Polycarbonate comes to life in Monolite, designed by Jacopo Foggini. The fluidity of the polymer is encased within rocky walls, forming an element that aspires to become a crystal, a precious stone from another world.

The inspiration for Monolite originates from a memory Jacopo holds dear: a discovery he made in 2002 with his archaeologist father—a cave in the Sahara Desert that, like a treasure chest, revealed thousands of rock paintings and samples of silica glass. This glass, with its sophisticated transparency—brilliant and profound—bears a striking resemblance to polycarbonate.

A glass that came to us from space, born from a meteorite that struck our planet millions of years ago, now interacts with a handcrafted element made of polycarbonate, a material deeply rooted in the Earth. From this interplanetary relationship, in which differences are astonished by their own similarities, Monolite is born.

Monolite, conceived by Jacopo Foggini, is an innovative architectural and design element, conceived, engineered, and handcrafted in Italy using polycarbonate. The collaboration with Dott. Gallina and Nova Composites, Dubai, further develops this process, providing technical research support and ensuring high-quality manufacturing.

Thanks to its unique transparency and its ability to be fully customized in terms of texture, colour, thickness, and size, Monolite offers a wide range of applications for both indoor and outdoor use, transforming when backlit. Polycarbonate, a highly versatile material, can be worked much like wood: it can be cut, drilled, milled, and screwed, offering tremendous design flexibility, including through thermoforming.

Its physical properties also ensure mechanical strength and durability while maintaining relative lightness, making it suitable for a variety of applications, including purely structural ones. Each Monolite piece undergoes a special “vitrification” process that enhances its resistance to abrasion, chemicals, and UV radiation, ensuring long-lasting durability even under extreme conditions.

Downtown Design is the premier design fair in the Middle East, driving the growth of the region’s creative sector. For the 2024 edition, organized by the Art Dubai Group in partnership with Dubai Design District and supported by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, Jacopo Foggini and Dott. Gallina created a stand in which emerald-green Monolites surrounded a large chandelier by Jacopo Foggini, forming an evocative jewel-like enclosure.