Franchi Umberto Marmi hosted thirty-six young architects from the UNC

Thirty-six young architects from UNC (University of North Carolina), based in Charlotte, come to visit Franchi Umberto Marmi from the USA to live an up-close experience with Carrara marble

The official visit of a large group of architects from the UNC (University of North Carolina, USA) in Charlotte (https://www.charlotte.edu/) took place at the headquarters of Franchi Umberto Marmi as part of the activities of the company’s Academy.

36 of them arrived from Charlotte, where one of the main universities in the state is located, taking advantage of the educational opportunity reserved for students attending the  Master of Architecture (MArch).

Accompanied by 5 teachers and Mrs. Donatella Beneventi, coordinator of the study trip, the young architects were welcomed in FUM by Memo Idriss, one of the company’s sales managers, who engaged the guests in a series of activities related to the training program, knowledge and promotion of Carrara marble developed by the FUM Academy and included in the calendar of 2025 events.

After having attended the course of studies in architecture, urban planning and industrial design  carried out on campus and after the research and design laboratories, this visit represents an important educational opportunity for Charlotte students, since the Master  offers them the opportunity to train through travelling and direct experiences.

The tour began with the visit to the INTERNI NOW and POLTRONA FRAU showrooms (which will be soon officially inaugurated in collaboration with FUM): here the group was led by Chiara Biselli of Interni Now, who showed them the various design and marble furniture collections and thedifferent applications of Carrara marble in the sector.

Then, the tour continued into the company areas, starting from the large yard in front of the FUM office building, where the students had the opportunity to admire and take pictures of the majestic marble blocks that stood out from a background characterized by a very blue sky and the Apuan mountains, offering a breathtaking scenery.

Then they visited the laboratory where the group was able to see how the marble polishing machine works: as always, it was fascinating to observe how the slabs enter the machine in their raw state and then come out splendidly polished.

From the polishing area, the tour continued into the BIG ONE showroom, where the young architects particularly appreciated the precious FUM marble slabs, displayed in a orderly manner offering a detailed and complete vision of the different materials and nuances of the marble coming from the mountains of Carrara.

Students and teachers were particularly impressed by the incredible variety of textures and color palettes: it is clear that no marble slab is the same as another, but they all remind the unique beauty of Carrara marble.

The tour continued in Galleria Umberto, Franchi’s marble atelier, which houses the collections of the HomeDesign line, and a selection of top quality slabs of Calacatta and Statuario Extra.

Here, to wrap up this experience, the students were asked to describe in one word their feelings and emotions towards marble.

Memo Idriss from FUM comments on the day as follows: “I believe that the visit to FUM represented a truly great opportunity for the young architects of Charlotte to enrich their training path and acquire not only technical skills, but also important and deep-rooted knowledge related to marble. Moreover, the aim of our Academy is precisely to bring together the tradition, innovation, technologies and planning  that characterize our marble on a single platform to make them accessible to professionals in the sector, whether already trained or in the process of training. See you next year!”