An inside look at the beauty and craft behind the manufacturing process of the M+ building’s facade tiles in Florence, Italy.
From a distance, the exterior of M+ might look black or grey, but did you know our facade is actually dark green? Unlike the glass and steel exteriors of many Hong Kong buildings, the M+ facade features corrugated ceramic tile, which serves the important function of protecting our building and our collections from the elements. Natural variations in the textures and minerals of the glaze make the tiles highly responsive to the environment—like the water in the harbour, they might shimmer in direct sunlight, or deepen into darker hues under the shade.
Enjoy this inside look at the beauty and craft behind the manufacturing process at a small factory in Italy, where the natural clays were cleaned, moulded, glazed, fired, and packaged before making their long journey to be assembled in mainland China and installed at their final home in Hong Kong.
Video Credits
- Produced by
M+
- Editors
Mattia Caprara, Chris Sullivan
- Sound Design and Mix
Chris Sullivan
- Camera Operators
Mattia Caprara, Flavio Pescatori, Edwin Yan Lee, William Lee Hing Ping, Richard George Fowler
- M+ Transcript and Closed Captions
Amy Leung, Chris Sullivan
- Special Thanks
Jennifer Wong, Angel Ng, Ikko Yokoyama, William Smith, Jaye Yau
See more videos about the new M+ building on YouTube.
Footage filmed at Palagio Engineering Srl, Florence, Italy, and M+, Hong Kong. This video was originally published on M+ Stories.