Architect Sally Mackereth certainly isn't the first established architect to try her hand at furniture design, but she's made a strong foray into that world of medium-sized design objects—material innovation and all—with CAST001, her first series of furniture, which recently debuted at Tom Dixon's MOST on the occasion of the Salone.

Mackereth has opted to forgo the easy stepping stone of the living room or kitchen and start with two matching articles of patio furniture, with future pieces to follow. CAST001 is an exploration of the aesthetic possibilities of reconstructed stone that has been 'infused' with a small percentage of metal—bronze, silver or gold—which imparts a muted sheen to the highly tactile surfaces. The designer has called on "traditional molding and casting specialists Stevensons of Norwich" to cast the pieces with distinctive textures.

The color, on the other hand, remains latent after the initial casting: the pieces emerge in an "ugly black color," and the metallic elements emerge only after the exterior is removed by hand-finishing.

The pieces are also finished with sealant to ensure that they are weatherproof, such that the pitted/pebbled material serves as a sort of de facto patina.

The stool is solid (and quite heavy for it); the table and future pieces have a steel substructure to support and reduce the total weight.

Sally Mackereth CAST 001 MOST Museo della Scienza e delle Tecnologia Via Olona 6 Through April 22

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