The creation of the new executive offices, showroom, and meeting area of Ecosism in Battaglia Terme (Padua) is part of a broader project to refurbish the interiors of an existing industrial building that had remained unfinished until then. The goal was to design representative workspaces capable of welcoming clients and partners, featuring finishes with a strong material impact and high resistance to wear.
The request came directly from the client, who had discovered Isoplam while visiting a designer office furniture company in the province of Treviso. Impressed by the flooring, they asked for its reference to replicate the same aesthetic and tactile quality in their executive spaces. This is how Ecosism turned to Isoplam to create a continuous surface in Deco Nuvolato.
Artisanal craftsmanship and specialist precision
The project involved the installation on a structural screed cast in situ, formulated according to Isoplam’s technical specifications. On the fresh concrete, an operator manually applied, in several passes, a layer of Deco Nuvolato – a pre-pigmented powder mixture that blends with the substrate to form a single cohesive body. Mechanically anchored to the concrete, the material was then worked with mechanical trowels to achieve a perfectly flat and smooth surface, while edges and corners were hand-finished by skilled craftsmen.
The flooring, executed by Isoplam’s in-house team – three specialized operators – was completed in about four days, covering over 1000 m² across two levels. Once the concrete had cured, a matte-effect water-repellent protective coating was applied to ensure stain resistance and easy maintenance.
Aesthetic value meets technical performance
With its natural, mineral, continuous, and luminous appearance – free from the plastic reflections typical of resins – Deco Nuvolato proved effective in diffusing light and enhancing the contemporary furnishings within Ecosism’s headquarters. Its material qualities resonated with the character of the building – a rational and linear volume defined by light-colored surfaces and exposed structural details – creating a balanced contrast between the solidity of concrete and the lightness of glass and steel elements. The matte finish deepens the gray tone, conveying a sense of concreteness and authenticity consistent with the company’s industrial and experimental identity. The seamless surface, free of joints, ensures easy cleaning and high user comfort in work and representative spaces, maintaining visual continuity between offices, showroom, and meeting rooms.
From a technical standpoint, the Deco Nuvolato flooring combines solidity and structural performance thanks to the inclusion of welded steel mesh or structural fibers in steel or polypropylene, which enhance its strength and durability, even in contexts subject to seismic stress. For Ecosism – a company active in the field of “seismic cladding” – this feature represented an added value, fully aligned with its corporate identity.
The result is a robust, continuous, and handcrafted flooring where technical precision meets careful manual detailing. The project, born from word-of-mouth and developed in close collaboration between client and company, has led to an ongoing partnership, with new projects currently underway in several Italian regions.
Roberto Zancan
Roberto Zancan, PhD, is Professor of History and Theory of Architecture at HEAD–Geneva (HES-SO). He has served as Deputy Editor of Domus, Chief Curator of the Inside the Academy Program for the BE OPEN Foundation, and Associate Researcher of the UNESCO Chair in Conservation and Regeneration of Urban Heritage at the IUAV University of Venice and the Canadian Centre for Architecture. He is the founder of the Ground Action group, whose works have been exhibited in the official sections of the Venice Biennale, the Ljubljana Design Biennale, the Lisbon Triennale, and Manifesta Marseille.
