Coffer

Coffer takes its starting point from a renaissance ceiling in Mantova, where repeated squares transform the space overhead into a complex geometric composition. Ceiling decoration occupies an unusual place within architecture. We experience walls and floors almost automatically, while the ceiling often requires a deliberate glance upwards. Historically, that less immediate surface became an opportunity for some remarkably ambitious pattern and ornament.

The renaissance reference uses geometry to suggest depth. Squares sit within squares, expanding outwards until neighbouring forms begin to connect. Repetition establishes order, while changes in scale give the composition a strong sense of dimension. Coffer borrows this principle and translates it into mosaic, reducing the architecture to its underlying geometry.

Moving the idea from ceiling to surface changes its character completely. Coffering traditionally creates physical depth through recessed panels, mouldings and shadow. Here, colour and proportion take over that role. Lines surround areas of colour, forms appear to sit inside one another, and a flat plane begins to suggest layers.

Coffer belongs to a broader fascination with patterns discovered by looking upwards. Historic buildings offer a remarkable catalogue of ideas above eye level, from painted vaults to carved ceilings and decorative plasterwork. Taking those references out of their original setting allows them to become something else. Coffer keeps the discipline and repetition of its medieval source, while allowing the geometry to find a new life in mosaic.

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