From Marble countertops to marble doors; marble is one of the most ancient and iconic building materials, the carbon-based stone has earned its status as an unsurpassed symbol of luxury in the modern design world. While marble continues to be a popular building material in a wide range of modern fixtures, the precedent for marble’s architectural importance can be found in countless cultures for thousands of years. To understand the evergreen popularity of marble and its creative usage in modern fixtures, designers need only look to the famous historical usages of this unique material.

Marble in history

Marble has been used countless times to denote wealth in cultures across the globe. The ancient Greek and Roman civilizations were known for their elaborately-painted marble sculptures, although the pigments have long given way to the stately white images that are now our best glimpses into the classical world. Over a thousand years later, the masters of the Renaissance would look to the materiality of these marble pieces to create immortal monuments to the mythological, historical, and religious subjects of the time. In the seventeenth-century, the Taj Mahal was lavishly decorated in white marble facade, selected for its status as the purest and most sanctified material available for the emperor Shah Jahan to honor the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Even as modern steel and stone options began to accommodate larger and taller architectural structures, marble has remained in use everywhere from the timelessly-dignified Lincoln Memorial to the ultra-modern Oslo Opera House. With all of that famed architecture representing only a handful of its usage, it’s clear that no matter the time or place of its utilization, marble has continued to imbue a polished naturality into its settings.

What makes marble unique

The unique appeal of marble architecture can be noted up and down the various centuries and continents, although the appeal of the material can also be understood on a chemical level. Marble is produced from a specific geological process in which carbonate rocks are pressurized into undergoing a process of metamorphism, resulting in recrystallization that gives the stone its iconic glossy appearance.

This process only occurs under markedly specific conditions where the stone is internally heated in the earth’s core beyond what is possible near the surface of the earth, yet not so intense that it causes the stone to simply melt. Metamorphism reactions are most common around certain geological regional hotspots, and this is the reason why Italian marble in particular is admired the world over for its natural strength and sheen. The natural beauty of premium Italian stone is at the forefront of the DAVANI Group’s design philosophy.

DAVANI’s marble doorways are designed to take full advantage of the unique aesthetics of marble stone.

Much like the individuality in every snowflake and thumbprint, tach slab of marble weaves a unique aesthetic story. The unique veining of marble is impossible to artificially replicate on stone, occurring naturally along the running of water to create unique and utterly natural beauty. Thus, each marble fixture becomes an impossible-to-replicate relic of the place of its creation, a modern testament to the ancient natural energies of the earth.

DAVANI’s interior craftsmanship is designed to highlight the naturality of marble veining. Each piece functions as its own watermark and signature.

The powerful style of marble doorways

With a reputation preceding itself in architecture and ornamentation, it is with particular attention that the discerning designer should pay toward the art of marble doors and entryways. While marble is already well known for its employment in floors, buttresses, and countertops, marble doors and entry spaces function as a particular usage as varied, iconic, and storied as the material itself.

The intricate veining of premium marble creates a natural mural that perfectly compliments the surrounding of doors and archways, resulting in a uniquely organic yet timeless aesthetic that marries a naturalistic exterior within a refined setting. The sturdy, yet easily malleable nature of marble engenders it as the perfect material for ornamentation, whether in sleek, modern minimalism or the ornate baroque and rococo styles dating back centuries. When used as a basis for doors themselves, marble can be a simple statement of elegance, a natural and beautifully carved barrier denoting the beginning and endings of the spaces of life.

Just as the marble itself is produced in a liminal space between the earth’s surface and its molten core, so does the marble’s placement reflect the balance between interiors and exteriors that are defined by throughways. Because all of the DAVANI Group’s signature entryway options are developed to exude a synergy that plays with the boundaries between interior and exterior spaces, the presentation of the boundary is a defining characteristic for a holistic design style.