Detail of Mater's glossy relief

Mater by Mutina — the tile New York called Best of the Year

Mutina

Patricia Urquiola

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Every year the American design establishment sifts through the world's launches and picks winners: in 2023, Interior Design Magazine's Best of Year Award for Tile + Stone Flooring went to Mater. The jury rewarded a story as good as the surface: Patricia Urquiola and Mutina's Massimo Orsini had been «obsessed for years» with the artisanal tiles on the floor of the company's own meeting room — and Mater (2023) is that obsession turned industrial: «technology, experimentation, craftsmanship to the eye and to the touch».

The system has two souls: Uni — rectified unglazed porcelain bases in Beige and Moka — and Segno, where «glaze becomes the true protagonist»: six glossy-relief patterns «never completely defined» (Bianco, Blu, Terra on Beige; Nero, Verde, Ocra on Moka). Formats up to 47×47 inches — Mater was born as a slab — with ASTM-friendly numbers split by soul: Uni DCOF 0.62, R11, DIN B for working floors; Segno R9/DCOF 0.29 for dry interiors and walls. Stain class 5, 20% recycled for LEED 4.1 across all colors.

Where the winner works

The winner covers the whole program: floor and wall, indoor and outdoor — golden rule: Uni underfoot, Segno in view — boardrooms, receptions, bathrooms with Uni trays and Segno walls. Datasheet and certificates on this page.

Technical information based on data declared by the manufacturer.

Collection: Mater
Manufacturer: Mutina
Design: Patricia Urquiola, 2023 — Best of Year Award 2023 (Interior Design Magazine, Tile + Stone Flooring)
Material: Uni: rectified unglazed porcelain (BIa UGL) — Segno: rectified glazed porcelain (BIa GL); thickness 0.35 / 0.41 in
Formats: 47×47, 24×24, 6×24 in (47.2×47.2, 23.6×23.6, 5.9×23.6 in) — skirting 3.8×60
Range: 2 Uni bases (Beige, Moka) + 6 Segno glossy-relief patterns (Bianco, Blu, Terra on Beige — Nero, Verde, Ocra on Moka)
Use: floor and wall — indoor and outdoor (Segno on floors: dry interiors only)
Declared values: absorption 0.06% (ASTM C373) — stain class 5 — frost resistant (ASTM C1026) — chemical resistant (ASTM C650) — slip Uni: DCOF 0.62, R11, DIN B, Pendulum 50/40, P3 — Segno: DCOF 0.29, R9, DIN A, Pendulum 45/25, P2
Sustainability: 20% pre-consumer recycled across all colors (LEED 4.1, 04/2023); ISO 14000 and ISO 9001; body free of VOC and SVHC substances; EPD, HPD on request
Installation: 0.08 in joint with wedges; double-spread adhesive on 47×47 — Packing: 120: 2 pcs (2.88 sqm) — 60×60: 4 pcs (1.44 sqm) — 15×60: 10 pcs (0.90 sqm)

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Los Angeles, CA, USA · +1 855 335 8079 · info@lamercanti.us
Supply, quotes, specifications and project support across the United States and North America.

Documents and Catalogs

Mutina Catalogue Mater Catalogue Mater LEED® Credit Contribution Sheet Mater Technical Guide, Laying & Maintenance

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FAQ

What did the Best of Year jury actually reward?
A rare double: craft and story. Interior Design Magazine's Best of Year is the American industry's annual verdict, and in 2023 the Tile + Stone Flooring category went to Mater - a collection whose glossy relief is applied with an innovative glazing technique and deliberately left «never completely defined», so the industrial tile keeps an artisan's hand. The story sealed it: the design was born from the floor of Mutina's own meeting room, tiles Urquiola and Massimo Orsini had been «obsessed with for years». For a US project narrative, the award is citable pedigree.
How do the two souls split a US specification?
Along ANSI lines, conveniently: Uni - the unglazed bases in Beige and Moka - declares DCOF 0.62, well above the 0.42 wet reference, plus R11 and DIN barefoot class B: working floors, showers, exterior terraces. Segno - the glossy relief - declares DCOF 0.29: below the wet threshold, so it belongs on walls and on dry interior floors (boardrooms, bedrooms, lounges) where its relief catches the light. The pairing is the point: spec Uni underfoot and Segno at eye level, same base tone, and the room arrives pre-coordinated.
What makes the relief «never completely defined» valuable at scale?
It kills repetition: on big commercial fields - a hotel corridor, an amenity floor's feature wall - printed patterns betray their repeat within a few yards. Mater's relief is an open drawing: lines swell, fade and wander, so adjacent tiles compose rather than repeat, and the 47×47 native slab lets the sketch breathe across whole bays. The discipline underneath is contract-grade: rectified edges, 0.06% absorption per ASTM C373, stain class 5, frost resistance per ASTM C1026.
Any US-relevant install notes for the 47×47?
The datasheet is explicit: double-spread (back-buttered) adhesive on the large format, 2 mm joints with levelling wedges, draw from several boxes; two thicknesses (9 and 10.5 mm) help match build-ups across rooms. Below-grade or exterior use follows the Uni soul's numbers - frost resistance is declared per ASTM C1026. And remember the split: the 47×47 exists in both souls, but only Uni belongs in wet or exterior traffic. La Mercanti flags the right soul per area at drawing stage.
What supports LEED and submittals?
A dated declaration of 20% pre-consumer recycled content across all colors (LEED 4.1, 2023), ISO 14000/9001 production, a body declared free of VOC and SVHC-listed substances, recyclable packaging - plus EPD, HPD, SDS and BPD3 files on request through La Mercanti, submittal-ready. Logistics per format: 47×47 in boxes of 2 (2.88 sqm), 24×24 of 4, 6×24 of 10, skirting by the meter. Sample costs are fully credited at order confirmation.

Specifying a winner: Mater in five steps

Five moves for US architects and design teams: the Best of Year tile from boardroom to shower - two souls, one golden rule.

Lead with the pair
Each Segno rides its base: Bianco, Blu, Terra on Beige; Nero, Verde, Ocra on Moka - floor and wall arrive pre-coordinated.
Split by DCOF
Uni (0.62) underfoot everywhere, wet and exterior included; Segno (0.29) on walls and dry interior floors only.
Use the native slab
47x47 was the founding format: feature walls and big bays let the open drawing breathe - back-butter and wedge.
Mind the two thicknesses
9 and 10.5 mm: match build-ups across areas at drawing stage, not on site.
Order by soul and format
Different packing per format: La Mercanti converts the drawing set into per-soul, per-format quantities and spares.

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