Confindustria Ceramica (the Italian Association of Ceramics) is proud to announce the winners of the 2025 Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition, marking another record year of exceptional projects that push the boundaries of Italian tile design. This year’s competition follows the successful merger of two historic initiatives; the Design Competition in North America and Europe’s La Ceramica e il Progetto, which now operates in alternating cycles between continents. In 2025, the focus returned to North America, celebrating architect and design firms that demonstrate exemplary use of ceramic and porcelain tile from Ceramics of Italy member brands.
Spanning three categories – Residential, Nonresidential and Design & New Applications – the competition drew a highly competitive pool of entries, with the international jury ultimately selecting five winners and three honorable mentions as recipients of this year’s awards. The jury is chaired by Louisa Hutton, architect and founder of the Berlin-based practice Sauerbruch Hutton, and includes Domitilla Dardi, historian and design curator at MAXXI in Rome; Luca Molinari, architect and Professor of Architectural Theory and Design at the University of Campania; Steve Clem, principal at the Atlanta- and Tampa-based firm TVS; and Emilio Mussini, Chairman of the Promotional Activities and Trade Fairs Commission of Confindustria Ceramica. Projects were judged on overall design, sustainable attributes, the degree to which Italian tile enhances the setting, the amount of ceramic or porcelain tile from Ceramics of Italy member companies used throughout the project, and the quality of the tile installation.
This year’s standout projects include a 74,000-square-foot academic research building at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business designed by MGA Partners, featuring a sophisticated ventilated façade clad in 12mm large-format porcelain panels, along with a marine-inspired restaurant, Tikka Charcoal Grill by Olbos Studio, evoking an immersive underwater world through textured surfaces and vibrant, three-dimensional materiality. On the residential side, a sustainability-driven hillside home by These Architects is enriched with colorful hues and expansive porcelain flooring, while Secter Architecture + Design’s hotel-inspired bungalow, Living Lounge, features clean, contemporary tile surfaces while blurring the line between indoor comfort and outdoor entertaining. Additionally, 2020 Stradella, a Bel Air luxury property by DI Group and Adeet Madan Home Design, impressed judges with its extensive, innovative tile applications such as a cascading porcelain-clad pool waterfall, a porcelain induction cooktop, tile-wrapped islands, and unified flooring that flows from the interior to exterior.
Together, these winning projects reflect the latest design directions and technological advancements in ceramic and porcelain tile – from exterior cladding and ventilated facades to 3D textures, handcrafted aesthetics, bold color palettes, through-body veining, large-format materials and a strong emphasis on indoor-outdoor living.
“As a juror, it was a pleasure to review and award some truly outstanding design submissions. I was inspired by the many ways these designers and architects embraced the extraordinary attributes of the Ceramics of Italy materials in the creation of their innovative solutions. All the winning projects are worthy of a visit to appreciate their beauty,” adds Steve Clem, principal at TVS and competition juror.
The 2025 Tile Competition winners were announced during the Ceramics of Italy Press Conference at Coverings, the largest tile and stone exhibition in North America, held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Each winning firm presented their projects in front of an audience of design and trade media, tile manufacturers, and industry professionals. As part of their prize, winners will also receive an expense-paid, CEU-accredited trip to Cersaie, the leading international exhibition of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings, taking place in Bologna, Italy from September 22–26, 2025.
RESIDENTIAL WINNERS
Firm: Secter Architecture + Design
Project: Living Lounge
Project Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Tile Manufacturers: Laminam, Mirage
Distributor: Julian Tile
Installer: Harris Builders LTD
Photographer: Lindsay Reid
Nestled along the Assiniboine River, Living Lounge is a hotel-inspired bungalow that blurs the line between indoor comfort and outdoor entertaining spaces. Designed by Canada-based firm Secter Architecture + Design, the residence centers on a sprawling open-plan living, dining, bar and lounge space, oriented to capture optimal light during evening gatherings. The interior flows effortlessly into exterior entertainment zones, including a sauna and an alfresco kitchen with serene river views. As a unifying element throughout the home, Mirage’s Glocal collection lends a clean, contemporary surface to the main entrance, laundry, and powder room floors, while the brand’s textured Quartziti line adds depth to the powder room walls. In the kitchen and dining areas, Laminam’s Pietra Grey porcelain surfaces wrap the backsplash, buffet, island face, and countertops, creating a refined, cohesive visual thread throughout the home.
Firm: These Architects
Project: House in the Hill
Location: Pelham, Ontario, Canada
Tile Manufacturer: Emilceramica, Mirage, Marazzi
Distributor: Stone Tile Canada, CIOT, Centura
Installer: DB Custom Homes
Photographer: Scott Norsworthy
Tucked into the wooded hillside of Ontario’s Fonthill Kame, House in the Hill is a reimagined residence that reconnects the home with the surrounding Carolinian forest. Designed by These Architects, the new structure builds on the original foundation, balancing preservation with a bold new architectural identity. A curved, north façade contrasts with orthogonal volumes reaching south toward the forest, linked by a central spine. Throughout all three levels, large-format Italian porcelain flooring from Emilceramica’s Tele di Marmo Reloaded collection seamlessly unifies living spaces, kitchens, hallways, and bathroom, while the brand’s Tele di Marmo Revolution series adds dramatic, marble-look veining to the kitchen backsplash, island, and appliance garage. Marazzi’s Lume collection complements the kitchen walls and animates ensuite bathrooms throughout the home in hues of blue, green, and white, while the brand’s Essenziale White Flora 3D tile brings added texture to the gym bathroom—contrasted by Mirage’s stone-look Norr tiles on adjacent walls. With sustainability central to the design, the project features high-performance glazing, passive ventilation, and a tightly sealed envelope that exceeds code requirements.
RESIDENTIAL HONRABLE MENTION
Firm: Mojo Stumer Associates
Project: Hidden Pond House
Location: Old Westbury, N.Y.
Tile Manufacturer: CEDIT
Distributor: Florim
Installer: Jon Bijari Custom Homes
Photographer: Mark Stumer
Set within the lush landscape of Old Westbury, New York, Hidden Pond House reinterprets the classic barn structure through a modernist lens. Designed by Mojo Stumer Associates, the home balances raw materials – featuring washed grey wood, concrete, and exposed steel – with refined architectural elements. A defining material throughout the home is the Matrice series by CEDIT, a large-format porcelain tile used on both the exterior and interiors. On the facade and rear elevation, the tile contrasts against dark wood slats, creating a striking rhythm, as bold, triangular roofs and distinctive windows invite light and frame the surrounding greenery. Inside, CEDIT’s Matrice tiles appear on a dramatic double-height entry wall, accent walls in the halls and stairways, and above the fireplace, where its ability to reflect light and enhance spatial depth powerfully draws the eye upward. The tile’s consistent presence – including moments in bedroom entries and alongside the owners’ art collection – unifies the interior palette while strengthening the home’s seamless relationship with the outdoors.
NONRESIDENTIAL WINNERS
Firm: Olbos Studio
Project: Tikka Charcoal Grill
Location: Hicksville, N.Y.
Tile Manufacturer: AcquarioDue
Distributor: AcquarioDue
Installer: Dumani Contractors
Photographer: Filippo Tommasoli
Tikka Charcoal Grill by Olbos Studio brings a sensory underwater world to life through immersive design and vibrant materiality. The restaurant’s focal point – a sculptural bar wrapped in overlapping, three-dimensional Calathea tiles by AcquarioDue – echoes the movement of water in four oceanic blues. Throughout the space, marine-inspired tones and forms create intimate dining zones enclosed in pill-shaped volumes that glow like lanterns behind translucent curtains. In the bathrooms, AcquarioDue’s tiles again make a bold impression – from peachy tones and warm golden hues to dark blue tiles complemented by coral colored sinks. Each thoughtfully-curated space continues the aquatic narrative, emphasized by metallic water ripple panels applied across the bathroom ceilings.
Firm: MGA Partners
Project: Academic Research Building at Wharton School of Business – University of Pennsylvania
Location: Philadelphia
Tile Manufacturer: Florim
Distributor: Florim
Installer: Hunter Roberts Construction Group
Photographer: Halkin Mason Photography
Part of the dense urban fabric and landscaped spaces that define the University of Pennsylvania’s campus, the Wharton School of Business is a cluster of prominent buildings now joined by its latest addition: a 74,000-square-foot academic research building designed by MGA Partners. Occupying one of the last available sites on the main campus, the LEED Gold-certified building serves as both an architectural anchor and connective link. A sophisticated ventilated facade clad in 12mm large-format porcelain panels by Florim – chosen in a charcoal tone to reflect the traditional slate roofs of neighboring historic structures – integrates with a high-performance curtainwall. The rainscreen incorporates ceramic frit patterns that vary in density, carefully balancing daylight, transparency, and solar control. Inside, the same Florim panels reappear throughout corridors, unifying the material palette, while white porcelain panels from the brand provide a contrasting color field that frames a sculptural, cantilevered spiral staircase. The design as a whole balances tradition and innovation, supporting dynamic student life through a rich layering of classrooms, study zones, and informal gathering spaces.
NONRESIDENTIAL HONORABLE MENTION
Firm: Arcsine
Project: The Overlook Cafè
Location: San Francisco
Tile Manufacturer: Settecento
Distributor: Statements Tile
Installer: HP Build Inc.
Photographer: Eric Rorer
Designed by Arcsine, the Overlook Café transports members and guests to a time when mid-century modern architecture and design flourished. Situated above the pool room at The Olympic Club – a historical athletics club operating since 1860 in Downtown San Francisco – the café combines the club’s sports-driven heritage with stylish and contemporary accoutrements. Overlooking the club’s swimming pool, the multipurpose space features bold yet classic aesthetics such as white ceramic picket tiles from Settecento’s Crayons collection at the servery wall, adding a clean yet visually intriguing backdrop. Original decorative posters from past sporting events at The Olympic Club provide a sense of artistic whim among the sleek furniture and chic elements, including custom red button-tufted banquettes and leather lounge booths, while the wooden ceiling adds texture and blocks sound amplified by the swimming pool with acoustic felt and wooden veneers.
DESIGN & NEW APPLICATION WINNER
Firm: DI Group, Adeet Madan Home Design
Project: 2020 Stradella
Location: Bel Air, Calif.
Tile Manufacturers: Ceramiche Refin, Florim, Infinity, Laminam, Supergres
Distributor: DI Group
Installer: Social Homebuilders Inc.
Photographer: Adrian Tiemens
Set high in the hills of Bel Air, 2020 Stradella is a luxury residence by DI Group and Adeet Madan Home Design that exemplifies restrained modernism through finely tuned materials and meticulous detailing. Throughout the expansive home, Italian porcelain tiles from Ceramiche Refin, Florim, Laminam, Infinity and Supergres play a starring role, chosen for their refined aesthetic and technical performance across a variety of innovative interior and exterior applications, including living areas, bathrooms, kitchens, and outdoor spaces. Outside, impressive applications of Ceramiche Refin’s matte-finished tiles define the exterior façade, pool coping and a cascading pool waterfall, while slip-resistant surfaces from the brand ensure safety across patios, walkways, staircases, and other high-traffic wet zones. Inside, new applications of porcelain continue to take on unexpected roles, including an integrated induction cooktop set into a porcelain counter by Laminam, paired with seamless indoor-outdoor flooring transitions that reinforces spatial continuity. Across all surfaces, the design prioritizes durability, modern elegance, and a seamless material language that elevates the experience of everyday living.
DESIGN & NEW APPLICATION HONORABLE MENTION
Firm: DKOR Interiors
Project: Ft. Lauderdale Waterfront Homely Estate
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Tile Manufacturer: Emilceramica
Distributor: Emilgroup
Installer: Bomar Builders
Photographer: Alexia Fodere
Located along the waterfront in Fort Lauderdale, this 12,300-square-foot residence by DKOR Interiors was designed to embrace its tropical setting through calm materiality and open spatial flow. Created in collaboration with STRANG Architecture and Bomar Builders, the two-story home balances industrial warmth with modern simplicity, pairing clean architectural lines with natural finishes. On the exterior, a distinctive design feature is the highly-innovative use of wood-look porcelain tile by Emilceramica, applied across vertical fins and overhead ceilings. Tasked with sourcing an extremely-durable, low-maintenance, weather-resistant alternative to natural wood, the chosen material captures the warmth and texture of timber while standing up to Florida’s humid, salt-rich coastal climate. Throughout, the palette is rooted in the surrounding landscape, complimented by open-flowing design that reinforces the seamless transition between interior and exterior spaces. The result is a home that fosters connection, ease, and a deep sense of retreat.
