Mansouri Visits Porcelanosa

Mansouri Living was honoured to be invited this summer to visit Porcelanosa’s headquarters in València, Spain – in concert with a one-week cultural tour of this impressive City, whose Latin name of Valentia appropriately means "strength" or "valour".

Porcelanosa, one of the most notable ceramic manufacturers in the world, operates in 150 countries and offers a mindfully curated collection of materials, including state-of-the-art building solutions for contemporary architecture.

 We’re in awe of Porcelanosa’s dedication to detail, ingenuity, and quality – they leave no stone unturned.

All images in our Porcelanosa Review are original photography by Lily Mansouri.

Neighbouring Porcelanosa’s headquarters is the striking City of Arts and Science (pictured above) designed by Santiago Calatrava and Felix Candela.  The series of buildings are clad in porcelain mosaics, a material that’s baked into the history of València with origins dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. Rich in cultural and artistic heritage, this community stands as a testament to healthy urban planning and architectural vision.

Located on a former riverbed, the once over-flooded Turia River was converted into the City of Arts and Science as a public space, conveniently connecting parts of the city with walking, running, and cycling trails.  It sits quietly below the bustling roads of the city, an ideal form of infrastructure used for leisure and commutes.

After experiencing Porcelanosa’s production facilities and showrooms, it’s natural that they chose to surround themselves with such expansive beauty.

Their showrooms display boundless products in inventive and inspiring applications while incorporating vibrant Spanish design principles.  Each one of them left a strong and lasting impression on our palettes and aligned perfectly with our functional creativity – an architectural approach we apply to all Mansouri Living projects.

At Mansouri Living, we’re dedicated to material knowledge, so it was fascinating to learn about their sourcing, production and installation methods.  A few fun facts:

• The material is sourced directly from this area of València, starting the process right near the factory.
• During the remarkably efficient production process, the material is in motion throughout each step (including sliding through a seemingly endless linear kiln!).
• Their tiles and panels never touch a human hand, which ensures that there are limited errors and inconsistencies, and that material arrives to projects with precision every time.
• Porcelanosa is conscious of their environmental footprint – all of the water produced from manufacturing is collected, filtered and re-used. Very little waste occurs during the production process as a whole.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates on our journey with Porcelanosa.