Technical Portal for Sustainable Architecture
Stone Engineering for Large-Scale Projects: Eternal Aesthetics and Certified Anchoring Systems
Ventilated Facades in Natural Stone, Marble and Granite
Natural stone represents the excellence and eternity of architecture. VM Group Srl creates ventilated facades in travertine, granite, and Santafiora stone, combining the majesty of stone materials with the most advanced engineering systems. From the renovation of historic and religious buildings like the Basilica of St. Paul in Rome to modern design icons like the Teatro degli Arcimboldi in Milan, each of our installations uses concealed AISI 304 stainless steel anchoring systems, ensuring maximum safety and a monumental aesthetic.
Ventilated facades in natural stone represent a highly valuable architectural solution, combining aesthetics, durability, and technical performance.
VM Group creates ventilated facade systems in natural stone, including travertine, granite, and stone materials, designed to ensure mechanical resistance, long-term stability, and expansion control.
Projects are developed using mechanical anchoring systems, including concealed anchoring systems, and stainless steel or aluminum substructures, ensuring pinpoint precision and structural safety.
The experience gained on institutional and commercial buildings and redevelopment projects makes VM Group a specialist in the creation of ventilated facades in natural stone.
Florence Courthouse – The Excellence of Natural Stone
Institutional Solidity and Cutting-edge Technology: Santafiora Stone
The Palace of Justice in Florence represents one of the most iconic projects in VM Group's portfolio. For this majestic institutional complex, we designed the ventilated façade using Santafiora Stone, a material that combines Tuscan tradition with exceptional durability.
The installation was carried out with a concealed AISI 304 stainless steel anchoring system, designed to support the stone loads while ensuring maximum safety and a clean aesthetic. This project demonstrates VM Group's ability to manage highly complex projects, where the technical rigor of steel meets the timeless beauty of stone, creating a building envelope capable of defying time and prestigeously representing contemporary public architecture.
Basilica of St. Paul (Rome) – Monumental Prestige
The Eternity of Travertine Meets Modern Engineering: 1,000 Square Meters of Excellence
In one of the world's most iconic locations, VM Group created the ventilated façade for a building belonging to the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. The project covered a 1,000-square-meter surface area, enhanced by the use of Roman Travertine, the stone that has defined Rome's architectural identity for millennia.
The technical challenge was to integrate the solemnity of the stone material with the performance of a cutting-edge ventilated envelope. Thanks to our high-strength anchoring systems, we ensured perfect coplanarity of the slabs and optimal ventilation, ensuring maximum durability of the structure. This project represents the perfect synthesis of VM Group's DNA: respect for tradition, mastery of natural materials, and application of the most advanced construction technologies.
Rimini Courthouse – Institutional Architecture and Solar Control
Navona Travertine and Sunshade Systems: Stone Engineering
The Rimini Courthouse represents a technical challenge met thanks to over 30 years of experience in the sector. For this complex, VM Group selected and installed Travertino Navona, a natural stone renowned for its compactness and warm cream tones.
The true innovation of the project lies in the dynamism of the façade: we alternated large solid walls with vertical stone sunshades, designed to shield the courthouse from solar radiation without sacrificing natural light.
The entire system is supported by a stainless steel substructure, chosen to ensure exceptional resistance to the corrosion typical of marine areas and pinpoint load stability. This project combines the solemnity required by a courthouse with the most modern energy efficiency requirements.
Natural Travertine and Invisible Engineering: Excellence in Cambiano (Turin)
Pininfarina Design Center – The Elegance of Italian Design
In the beating heart of global automotive creativity, VM Group created the cladding for the Pininfarina Design Center. The project involved approximately 300 square meters of ventilated façade, where natural travertine takes center stage.
To meet the center's high aesthetic standards, we opted for a stainless steel substructure with an invisible (hidden) fastening system. This technology allows the stone to express itself without any mechanical interruptions, ensuring a continuous, pure, and elegant surface. This project demonstrates how VM Group is the ideal partner for brands that make design and pinpoint precision their hallmark.
2,000 square meters of Black Zimbabwe: When Technique Becomes Art
Teatro degli Arcimboldi (Milan) – Gregotti's Design Icon
For the Teatro degli Arcimboldi in Milan, VM Group created a monumental cladding project: over 2,000 square meters of ventilated façade in Black Zimbabwe Granite. In this internationally prestigious project, designed by architect Vittorio Gregotti, our challenge was to translate the geometric rigor of the design into a flawless construction.
We used a point-based anchoring system with a concealed hook, an engineering solution that supports the heavy granite slabs while ensuring a completely pure exterior surface, free of visible fasteners.
This project is not just a shell, but a symbol of technical precision: the depth of the stone's absolute blackness meets the mastery of VM Group, ensuring eternal durability and an aesthetic that has redefined Milan's architectural landscape.
Red Granite and Marine Resistance: A Shell of Excellence in the Heart of Sanremo
Palafiori Sanremo – Material Strength and Architectural Rigour
For the prestigious Palafiori multipurpose center in Sanremo, VM Group oversaw the construction of the ventilated façade in Red Granite. The choice of this natural material was not only aesthetic, but also strategic: granite offers exceptional resistance to the most aggressive weather conditions, making it the ideal solution for the marine microclimate of the Ligurian Riviera, characterized by high saltiness and humidity.
The project required meticulous design of the anchoring systems to support the specific weight of the large slabs and ensure optimal ventilation.
Thanks to our thirty years of experience, we delivered a project that combines the chromatic elegance of natural red with impeccable structural durability, transforming the Palafiori into a solid and enduring architectural landmark.
The Tradition of Sardinian Granite Meets Building Envelope Engineering
The "Riviera del Corallo" terminal represents a perfect combination of local identity and functional design. VM Group oversaw the construction of the ventilated façade using noble local materials: Grigio Sardo Granite and Rosa Beta.
The project was designed to meet the severe demands of an airport environment: resistance to saline atmospheric agents, thermal and acoustic insulation for maximum passenger comfort, and aesthetic durability.
Thanks to our many years of experience, we have transformed natural stone into an advanced technological system that welcomes travelers into a modern, safe, and energy-efficient facility.
Alghero-Fertilia Airport – Passenger Terminal
Luxury Residence in Prague – The Art of Navona Travertine
Architectural Tailoring in Navona Travertine: Custom Engineering Beyond National Borders
In one of Prague's most exclusive areas, VM Group has created a Navona Roman Travertine shell that redefines the concept of a luxury residence.
The main challenge of this project lies in the complexity of its forms: we designed and installed a custom-bent substructure to accommodate the building's circular volumes, ensuring the stone slabs' perfect flatness.
The travertine's aesthetic integrity is preserved by a concealed mechanical anchoring system, allowing the stone's natural veining to flow seamlessly. The result is a work that combines ventilated façade technology with the attention to detail typical of the great Italian stone tradition, bringing VM Group's excellence beyond national borders.
Tivoli Car Dealership – Elite Commercial Restyling
Roman Travertine and Contemporary Design: Elevating the Brand through Architecture
For this prestigious showroom in Tivoli, VM Group oversaw a complete façade renovation. The goal was to transform an existing commercial space into a luxurious and prestigious space. The choice of Roman Travertine, installed with a concealed ventilated system, created a seamless, textured surface that enhances the large display windows.
The use of natural stone in a retail space is not just an aesthetic choice, but a strategic investment: thanks to our thirty years of experience, we have ensured a building envelope that drastically reduces maintenance costs and improves the thermal comfort of the interior spaces. The result is a perfect balance between the showroom's high-tech transparency and the age-old solemnity of the travertine, reflecting the values of excellence of the automotive brand it houses.
Scandicci (Florence) – Innovation in Recomposed Materials
Marble and Granite Chips: The Synthesis of Nature and Technology
In Scandicci, VM Group created a façade cladding that explores the potential of marble and granite chips. This solution is ideal for those seeking the texture of natural stone combined with the dimensional precision of recomposed materials, ensuring a consistent aesthetic across large surfaces.
The installation was carried out using a ventilated façade system with stainless steel anchors, designed to ensure pinpoint flatness and superior resistance to thermal shock. This project demonstrates VM Group's flexibility in interpreting different material styles, offering technical solutions that maximize the durability of the building envelope and interior living comfort.
Perugia Car Dealership – Restyling and High-Tech Identity
Technical Ceramics and Coordinated Fixings: The Envelope as a Brand Manifesto
In Perugia, VM Group oversaw the restyling of a major automotive showroom, transforming a conventional building into a contemporary design hub. For this renovation, we chose a technical ceramic cladding, an extremely durable material with an impeccable finish, ideal for conveying the innovation and precision of the automotive world.
The installation was carried out using an exposed mechanical fastening system with RAL-colored clips, ensuring maximum structural strength and an integrated aesthetic.
This project, the fruit of our thirty years of experience, not only enhances the showroom's image but also optimizes its energy performance, creating a welcoming environment for customers while protecting it from the elements.
Travertine Ventilated Facade in Rho (Milan): Material Elegance and Mechanical Engineering
Natural travertine cladding for a hospitality facility in Rho (MI), engineered with a Kerf-type concealed mechanical fastening system.
A perfect combination of the historic nature of natural stone and the modernity of dry-laminate technology.
For this important hospitality facility located in Rho, just outside Milan, VM Group oversaw the engineering and construction of the ventilated façade, transforming the building's aesthetics and efficiency.
The choice of finish fell on travertine slabs, a noble and timeless material that gives the hotel a luminous, prestigious, and institutional image, perfectly integrated into Milan's urban context.
The Technical Heart of the Project: Kerf Fixing
From an engineering perspective, the real challenge was to ensure a visually continuous, clean surface free of visible anchoring elements, without compromising static safety and wind resistance.
The project was constructed using the Kerf mechanical fixing system. This technique involves making a continuous or localized incision (milling) along the thickness (rib) of the travertine slab. Stainless steel anchoring brackets are inserted into this invisible slot and connected to the aluminum substructure.
The advantages of this construction:
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Minimal and Exclusive Aesthetic: The fastening disappears completely behind the slab, allowing the natural veining of the travertine to take center stage.
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Safety and Durability: The system's mechanics evenly distribute loads (self-weight and wind pressure) across the substructure, absorbing the thermal expansion typical of Milan's climate.
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Energy Efficiency: By taking full advantage of the chimney effect in the cavity, the building benefits from a drastic reduction in summer heat, reducing the hotel's cooling costs.
A project that demonstrates how VM Group's thirty years of experience can transform a stone cladding into an advanced, safe, and expertly designed construction system.
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