Cotto d'Este celebrates romantic brutalism

The return of brutalism: matter as language

The architectural movement that marked the 20th century, Brutalism, once again takes centre stage in contemporary design.

Born as a response to post-war decorative excess, this style is defined by geometric volumes, exposed concrete and a radical pursuit of constructive truth. Today, thanks to a renewed aesthetic awareness, this language evolves into a more intimate and sensorial form: romantic brutalism.

No longer only austerity, but light, matter and emotion.

Raw surfaces become tactile, severe volumes soften, and materials — stone, concrete, ceramic — become the medium of a poetic and gentle strength. A vision that restores architecture to its highest purpose: transforming matter into emotion.

With the elegance and expertise that have distinguished the brand for over thirty years, Cotto d’Este interprets romantic brutalism through four collections that express the dual soul of contemporary design: technical mastery and beauty, substance and light.

Solaris: the brightness of Mediterranean stone

New for 2025, Solaris is a tribute to light.

Inspired by the limestone of Southern Europe, this stone-effect porcelain captures the calm of Mediterranean landscapes, where material melts into sunlight.
Delicate veins and tone-on-tone nuances enhance surfaces with a sense of serenity and seamless continuity — ideal for residential spaces and public architecture seeking harmony and natural appeal.

The shades – Ostuni, Trani, Split and Rhodes – evoke the radiant charm of light-colored stones and their timeless elegance.

Thanks to the three production souls of Cotto d’Este, Solaris is available in:

• Kerlite 6plus, the ultra-thin large slab just 6.5 mm thick, perfect for floors, furniture, and wall surfaces;
• Blustyle, the range combining aesthetics and functionality in a refined, high-performance porcelain stoneware;
• 20 mm, ideal for outdoor areas and public spaces where durability meets design continuity.

A complete collection that reimagines stone-look porcelain tiles with a sober, luminous, and architectural language.

Arketipo: the sculpture of matter

Arketipo is the essence of romantic brutalism by Cotto d’Este: an award-winning and innovative material created from a blend of sands, flakes, and mortars processed with cutting-edge ceramic technology. It is neither concrete nor stone — but a new and profound surface that merges art and architecture in dense, vibrant, and authentic textures.

The collection comes in three complementary technologies: Kerlite, thin and flexible (3.5 and 6.5 mm) for large seamless coverings; 14MM, which enhances visual depth and materiality; and 20 mm, ideal for high-performance outdoor flooring.

With 16 tones and six finishes — including Natural, Honed, Antislip and Tough — Arketipo offers endless compositional solutions, from monumental to minimal. A surface that doesn’t imitate, but creates a new archetype of architectural beauty.

Blow: the dual soul of concrete

With Blow, concrete becomes a contemporary narrative.

Two surfaces, two interpretations of time: Crust, raw and lived-in, and Flat, pure and rational. These concrete-effect tiles interact in harmony, creating spaces with a strong material identity. Available in eight colours, four Safetouch finishes, and formats up to 120×120 cm, Blow expresses the perfect balance between industrial aesthetics and tactile comfort — making coloured porcelain stoneware the ideal choice for urban interiors and metropolitan architectures.

Blutech: the technical purity of matter

Blutech represents the quintessence of full-body porcelain stoneware: a technical and refined material that blends structural precision with aesthetic consistency.
Its homogeneous and deep surfaces bring the purity of concrete and the perfection of ceramic craftsmanship into architecture.

Available in six contemporary tones – Bianco, Avorio, Beige, Cemento, Cenere e Antracite – and in various thicknesses, Blutech ensures extreme resistance, flatness, and long-lasting performance. A collection designed for public, commercial, and residential projects where ceramic material expresses elegance, strength, and precision.