Tani Ori – Lightweight Marble Origami

Marmomac 2025
Lightweight marble origami module for ventilated façades.
Modular Verticality for ADI

Project: Tani Ori – Lightweight Marble Origami

Tani Ori is a research-driven design project by Matteo Leorato that explores the concept of marble origami through lightweight stone technology.
The project investigates how natural marble, traditionally associated with weight and rigidity, can be transformed into folded, three-dimensional volumes inspired by the principles of origami.

At the core of Tani Ori is a lightweight marble panel system, composed of a thin layer of natural marble bonded to aluminum composite panels and a polyethylene core.
Through precise CNC milling and controlled folding, the marble surface behaves like a sheet, allowing the creation of complex geometries and medium-scale volumes that would be structurally and technically impossible using solid stone.

Each module measures 52 × 59.5 × 25 cm and weighs only 7 kg, making the system suitable for architectural applications such as ventilated façades.
The reduced weight significantly improves handling, installation, and anchoring performance, while preserving the tactile and visual qualities of natural marble.

The concept of origami applied to marble generates a deliberate material oxymoron: lightness versus solidity, flexibility versus permanence.
This contrast becomes a design tool, redefining the expressive potential of stone and opening new possibilities for off-site construction, modular architecture, and sustainable building systems.

Tani Ori positions marble not as a static cladding material, but as a dynamic architectural surface—capable of interacting with light, depth, and repetition.
The project represents an ongoing exploration into lightweight construction, material innovation, and contemporary stone design, bridging craftsmanship and industrial processes.

Companies: Litho Project , Remax