The Dictionary defines Obsidiana as «vitreous volcanic rock, black or very dark green. A naturally fused feldspar, with which the American Indians made cutting weapons, arrows, and mirrors». A voice which inspires natural decoration trends, sustainable works, and encourages us to reuse, recycle, reduce, reconsider. Additionally, it connotes strength, capacity, productivity, personality, inspiration. Obsidiana ™ is the spearhead of COMPAC to start a new stage, to look nature in the eye and to continue inspiring them; to the firm and to the architects, designers and interior designers who already trust the new surface made of up to 100% recycled glass to leave the importance of the natural and sustainable in their projects.
Following its presentation at KBIS 2020 (Las Vegas, January 2020), COMPAC Obsidiana ™ has just been officially presented to the market with the aim of “revolutionizing the sector, making the most demanding fall in love and turning 180 degrees in industrial processes”. A declaration of intent raised by Paco Sanchis, CEO of the firm, which goes further by meaning that “never before anyone has been able to create a material like this, recycled and recyclable.”
“All the beauty of natural glass”
Although, a priori, it seems a contradiction to work in the industry and approach production from a 100% eco-efficient perspective. However, as established by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “at COMPAC we have once again demonstrated that it is possible,” says Sanchis. The new surface material named Obsidiana ™ “reproduces all the beauty and technique of natural glass, surpassing even its original state and with a totally sustainable manufacturing process that was born to fill any space with extraordinary beauty.”
Versatility, exclusivity and personalization of spaces
Precisely, the characteristics that define the new material and the surfaces that architects, designers and interior designers can project are their own, unique and defined by each author’s work. COMPAC adapts the potential of the materials to the creativity of the professionals and even manages to connect with the most demanding proposals. Thus, Obsidiana™ opens to interior spaces, to wall cladding, shelves, countertops, shower trays, vanities, sinks, kitchens … The only limit is the imagination of each specialist.
Ethical beauty
From now on, the Ethical Beauty concept also flirts with an unexpected new ally: beauty, which adds its own battle cry, Ethical beauty. Because beauty is also possible when working sustainable materials with surfaces based on the primeval, the elemental, the natural. Beauty appeals to its natural uniqueness. This Ethical beauty is presented in two collections: Volcano and Astral.
Both possibilities and their chromatic options coincide in their appearance, with a high level of expressiveness and natural realism, which allow creating compositional and degraded games with an elegant and sophisticated aesthetic. Likewise, its texture and final finish play a relevant and differentiating role in projects.
The rest of Obsidiana™’s virtues focus on the quality demonstrated by the demanding tests it underwent before its launch. These ensured it is resistant to fire, abrasion, bending, slippage and chemical agents, among others properties that can be consulted in its technical data sheet.
As natural as the dynamism of the water
Combining the textures of the new material with something as natural as water was the initial point of inspiration that helped Arik Levy, COMPAC collaborating artist in the world, to create a bathtub and a washbasin from natural blocks of Obsidian Volcano Fog ™ under a concept that the architect named Waterstorm. The pieces, presented in the last edition of KBIS with the revealing secrecy it played, were made with the company’s new material, from 100% recycled glass.
All in all, the artist managed to contribute an additional reflection to the beauty of the material: “If we are more than 70% water, why not use it to create new sensations? As an artist, working on this collection was very important because it allowed me to give rigid materials the capacity of dynamics ”, he explains and also includes in the book that he just edited under the title“ Techno Poetics ”, of which we will soon publish a review at The Decorative Surfaces.
Sensations to which Levy refers as the one produced by water in its dialogue with natural glass; generates a new perception, based on the movement of the liquid element moving along the Obsidiana™ surface. Its beauty adds to the dynamism that a priori its static condition could not have offered.
Sustainable trajectory
In all its production processes, COMPAC uses 100% recycled water and energy from renewable sources. In addition, the company has a reforestation program that has involved the planting of more than 30,000 native pines to offset the emissions generated. The world’s leading producer of this type of naturally-inspired surface received the Sustainability Award at the latest edition of the KBIS international fair held in Las Vegas last January. The jury highlighted the creation of Obsidiana™ and COMPAC’s sustainable track record.
