AMO Has Made Your Grocery Shop Out of Marble

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Samir Bantal, who leads research and design at the architecture firm OMA, has created a supermarket-like structure entirely from stone, filled with representations of fruits and vegetables.

The “Il Sonno” market is unique because everything – the shelves and all the products for sale – are crafted from natural stone like marble, onyx, granite, and travertine. These stones are sculpted into the shapes of common grocery items, such as Pringles cans, sandwiches, and pieces of fruit, and then sold to customers.

The installation was made to look exactly like a working supermarket, complete with bright fluorescent lights, music playing, and typical aisles. Two mirrored walls created reflections of people as they walked through. Artist Bantal explained that it captured the feeling of shopping without thought – a purely automatic act. At ‘Il Sonno Supermarket,’ that automatic behavior is captured and held still. Everyday products have been turned into beautiful objects, losing their original purpose, and the usual rush through a supermarket is replaced with a sense of contemplation.

Although the designs have a playful, cartoon-like quality, SolidNature’s founder, David Mahyari, sees them as part of a larger discussion about how we value materials and how long they last. He explains that using natural stone brings a unique sense of worth, because it’s sustainable, long-lasting, and genuinely real.

Instead of focusing on quick trends and throwaway culture, this approach encourages thoughtful consumption. It means making everyday decisions with a bigger purpose in mind – building a more mindful and sustainable future.

SolidNature, a natural stone company, created the installation and presented it during Milan Design Week in April. It was featured as part of Designboom’s Room for Dreams exhibition at the ME Milan Il Duca hotel. The installation included 1,716 individual stone pieces, using 32 different types of stone, available in 24 formats and four finishes.

The Milan show has closed, but the stone objects are available to purchase through SolidNature.

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2026-05-27 15:56