The historical centre of Cuenca, located in the heart of Spain, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The passage of time and the city’s surroundings have shaped an urban architecture the greatest example of which is the well-known Casas Colgadas (Hanging Houses), a group of three Gothic-style residential buildings on a cliff overlooking the Huécar river.

The Casas Colgadas, which date back to the 16th century, have been restored on many occasions to maintain their essence to the present day. The latest restoration has been carried out by the Redondo Soria Arquitectos studio, which has performed a complete refurbishment of the outdoor and indoor spaces, areas that also house the Spanish Abstract Art Museum and the Casas Colgadas restaurant.

Respect for the historical heritage, the restoration and optimisation of the spaces, and their appropriate accessibility have been the main aims of this challenging refurbishment project in which Cosentino Natural Stone has been used for different surfaces of the restaurant, such as the flooring, cladding and furniture.

As an extension of the historical group of buildings with a marked Gothic character, both the museum and the restaurant adopt different urban features and bring them inside the building – the staircases. These single flight staircases in Negro Zimbawe granite with a vintage finish flow from the mezzanine level of the dining room to welcome the user and take them to the upper floor, as if they were a continuation of the floor, to one of the dining rooms, known as the Sala Negra.

A wine cellar has been created in the space previously intended for toilets, and Ónix Miel in Polished finish has been chosen for a high table. The result is a stunning piece of design that stands out in an intimate space for wine tasting.

Another of the dining rooms, the Sala Pétrea, has a powerful and abstract design, with granite and geometric materials as the main features. The use of Pacific Grey for flooring, as well as wall cladding and the central table, has achieved an impressive room that brings the gothic style of the streets into the restaurant.

One of the major project refurbishments has taken place on the second floor, where there used to be a house with a space under cover for storage, in disuse and in very poor condition. The framing has been demolished to make the space look bigger, creating a geometry similar to the main hall of the Spanish Abstract Art Museum and trying to recreate the textures, light and colour of the so-called Sala Blanca, where the Blanco Thassos colour has been used for flooring, also in Natural Stone and in Polished finish.

All in all, the refurbishment of the Casas Colgadas together with the museum and the restaurant has achieved harmony between the historical and heritage outside and the artistic and culinary experience offered inside this iconic architectural landmark.

Natural colours and a very contemporary design renew the aesthetics of the new showroom of Salboy, a property development company based in Salford, UK. In this way the project by Studio Power has achieved an image in keeping with the success of this company, which has delivered more than 2,400 homes across the UK and focuses on the development of high quality residential accommodation. Domis Construction helped bring the project to life from conception to construction, while Granite Tops UK was the manufacturer.

The multidisciplinary architecture studio chose Dekton by Cosentino surfaces for this project, not only because of their natural appearance, but also because of their durability and zero carbon footprint throughout their life cycle, thus contributing to an environment focused on sustainability.

To support and care for the families of hospitalised children, the Ronald McDonald Foundation, established in 1994, has provided parents with warm, welcoming homes in the vicinity of hospitals. In France alone more than 57,000 families have stayed in the ten homes run by the Foundation. Cosentino has donated material and equipped the kitchen of one of these homes, located in Paris, near the Robert-Debré hospital. This is Cosentino’s small part to help build a welcoming space that allows hospitalised children to be close to their families, thus maintaining an emotional balance that is crucial for their healing.

The Nouvelle Maison house in Paris was built two years ago next to the second leading children’s hospital in Europe, and welcomes families of children from all over the world. Families have free access to the building and have a separate bedroom at their disposal. The kitchen is a common area open 24 hours a day for parents’ use. Here they can relax, socialise with other families and recharge their batteries away from the hospital environment.

More than an office complex, Continental Towers in Illinois is a space for collaboration and connection. This was the driving force behind the refurbishment process of its main lobby, which connects the three towers, and its service area, which was transformed into a meeting point. Whitney Architects, the firm in charge of the project, worked closely with the client to achieve a refreshed and contemporary look for these spaces.

For this purpose, a material was needed which, in addition to being aesthetically strong, could withstand the heavy daily traffic of people and metal trolleys on which the company’s material is delivered. The client had already thought of Dekton as the ideal material for this, especially because of its hardness and low porosity, and preferred the Soke and Kelya colours for the interior cladding of both rooms.

Among the 250 companies housed on the 2,800-hectare Research Triangle Park corporate campus in North Carolina, a recent project stands out for its innovative use of design to create a space for collaboration, creativity and interaction. Elisa Christopher, from Phillips Architecture design studio, was commissioned for this project in which the company wanted to give a new look to a lobby and staircase area using Dekton by Cosentino.

The client wanted a material that would surprise potential and existing employees and create a striking appearance at first glance. The designer had already worked with Cosentino in the past and thought that it would be the ideal material to add character and elegance to the space. At Cosentino’s industrial park in Almería, Christopher was able to see the product first hand and discover the endless design possibilities that Dekton has to offer. Taking advantage of its technical and aesthetic properties on such a large campus was a challenge for her and she jumped at the chance.

DYS architecture chose Dekton for the stylish façade cladding of the Leon Judah Blackmore Pavilion at Vancouver General Hospital. The renovation of the building is a tribute to Leon Judah Blackmore, a Polish immigrant who made Canada his home and flourished as a businessman and real estate developer. In memory of his passion and contribution to the community, his philanthropic foundation donated $18.4 million to the hospital after his death.

Two years after that, the hospital’s Centenary Pavilion has been renovated and now bears his name as a tribute. The Vancouver-based Cosentino team collaborated on the project by supplying the Dekton Aura15 cladding material used on the façade that frames the entrance to the building.

In a growing Vancouver neighbourhood you can find The Mahogany, a mixed-use skyscraper whose façade showcases its luxurious and sophisticated interiors. ‘I was looking for a smooth, marble-like finish at the main entrance with the panels leading to the lobby’, explains Diane Delves, President and CEO at Quantum Properties, the developer of the impressive skyscraper. The building is located in the vibrant neighbourhood of Abbotsford, British Columbia (Canada), overlooking Mill Lake. The façade of this unique building, designed by Site Lines Architecture, was clad with Dekton Aura 15 panels, which, according to Delves, ‘added the perfect finishing touch to our beautiful mixed-use skyscraper’.

The Mahogany is equipped with luxurious facilities such as an indoor swimming pool and jacuzzi, an outdoor atrium and a gym, among others. It also boasts environmentally friendly systems, like geothermal heating and cooling and energy-efficient glazing. A symbol of luxury and sustainability with the finishing touch of the Dekton Aura 15 marble-look finish. ‘Dekton’s interior and exterior panel options and concealed mounting system made it the perfect solution’, Delves concludes.

The new stadium, financed by the Canadian Simon Fraser University and its students, is designed to offer a completely new university experience. The stadium is home to the sports teams of this Richmond-based university and its refurbishment was intended to extend its capacity and improve the overall quality of the facilities. Athletes, students and the entire educational community can now enjoy new spaces thanks to a design that includes a new structure with a capacity for 1,800 people and a large roof with a contemporary design. In its construction, Perkins + Will Architects used two Dekton colours, Domoos and Spectra. Dekton was also used for the columns throughout the stadium, providing elegance and, at the same time, a number of technical advantages. The stadium is designed to be visited by thousands of people a year and to withstand the extreme weather conditions of the area, from the hottest summers to the coldest and wettest winters. For this reason, the Dekton surface was the perfect solution for this sports facility.

The Kiryat Gat water fountain in Israel is located in a very special place, where the old and new city meet. Furthermore, this new fountain at the junction of several roads also serves as a gateway to the city.

When artist and designer Elya Shapiro was commissioned to design and build this fountain, his first thought was to choose a beautiful and stunning material which would also age well over time. The choice of Dekton Ventus met most of the requirements of the project: it is resistant to chlorine and salt water, can be cut precisely to suit different thicknesses and is suitable for use with a KEIL anchoring system on the façade.

Shapiro also took aesthetic considerations into account in his choice, such as the wide range of Dekton colours and the possibility of custom cutting, depending on the needs of the project (with or without edges, for example).

From a professional point of view, Shapiro considered the advantages of working with Cosentino: long-term warranty, responsiveness and problem-solving, on-time delivery and supply of additional, perfectly packaged material, in case of breakage.