Your studio has headquarters both in Italy and in the United States, where in 2018 you opened a branch in Miami. What are the differences between the way of doing architecture in Italy and in the United States? 

Roberto Segoni, a great architect and professor, used to open his lecture by comparing the images of a European and an American car. The European car was a Cinquecento Fiat car, small in size, attentive to the consumption and to the use of materials but with limited performance, as the definition of “compact” suggests. Then, he would show a 1951 Studebaker designed by Raymond Loewy, more than five  meters long and more akin to a plane than a car. As emerges, in the United States there is a dimensional difference, which also corresponds to a difference in human purposes. The modern tower building was born in the United States precisely because there is a predisposition to a courageous innovation, which assumes the risks with the values and defects of this attitude. Just think, for example, of the buildings in Manhattan of the last generation, the so-called “pencil towers”, daring buildings where the focus is on the limit point.

Almost oppositely, in Europe we have a design concept related to harmonisation rather than to the search for the limit. How is this reflected in American architecture? In a greater dimension of architectural objects and a superior technological push. Then, there is also social innovation to take into account. In American buildings the part related to private sociality is concentrated in condominium areas. Fitness spaces, swimming pools, children’s play areas, cinemas: these are elements that belong to the American hedonistic culture. I cite the example of our project, the Flatiron Building in Miami, which has an area of about 100,000 m² of which 5,000 are dedicated to common services. In the hall of the building we have also included works by the American painter Julian Schnabel, so that those who arrive have the impression of entering a museum space.

This year you were awarded with the Good Design award for the Brasilia radiator produced by Caleido. What were the references for the development of Brasilia?  

In product design as well as in architecture, we must always start from something as an aesthetic-functional idea. Today are much popular these flat, invisible and certainly interesting products. However, if we remember the radiators of the past, these were equipped with a specific finning, which is the best way to disperse or emit heat into the air. They also had peculiar shapes, almost as sculptures. There was a technical reason, because the more surface you place in contact with the environment you want to heat, the better. My project was therefore a search for forms that were not too recognizable and not invisible, so as to have the greatest possible surface that emits heat, also according to a principle of sustainability. I started from the shape of the curve, soft and flattened towards the walls, thus allowing to increase the heating surface. Then, as I drew them, I remembered the projects made in Brasilia by the great architect Oscar Niemeyer. Hence the name, which is inherently a historical-formal reference.

With the Design Club Collection project in Bologna, yur studio brought a new concept to the market. How did it originate? 

The project was born from the awareness of an aptitude both directed to the redevelopment of new buildings and interior design. In fact, in contrast with the traditional residential design, which stops at apartments’ dimensions, in living spaces for short-term rent it is necessary to combine architectural design and furnishing. Therefore, putting together these two characteristics, the “perfect” product is a small living unit – from 45 to 85 m² ­– equipped with interior furniture.

The possibility of carrying out this project emerged some years ago with a company of which we are partner and within which we deal with the design part. It was an office building of a former insurance agency that we have completely redeveloped. Today there are thirty-five apartments that we have endowed with different styles and characters. Therefore, some have strong colours, others are more familiar, with earthy and woody shades, others are industrial-style and some are particularly elegant, with metallic finishes. We therefore made a series of differentiating choices to offer a number of visual products and atmospheres.

An additional element was to choose pieces from the catalogs of Italian design companies, including Poltrona Frau, Cassina Memphis Milano, Zanotta, Moroso and Guzzini. There is therefore a technical design part of the interior, with cupboards, kitchens and technical furniture that do not necessarily have to be loaded with a meaning. On the other hand, the seats, tables and lighting have been chosen specifically for the single living unit. Moreover, it was interesting to have a reconnaissance with these companies to make them participate in the initiative. It is an example of how Italian design can be applied to this type of residential.

Among the most recent projects of yours we find the flagship store of Terme di Sirmione, characterized by a specific spatial concept. What elements define it? 

It is always the base element that makes the project. In this case it is a noble element in some respects, earthly for others, as we speak of mud. We started from there, from the idea of something magmatic, fluid but dense. We have designed the different functional areas of this store, which displays products the derivatives from the Sirmione mud, which give benefits both in terms of aesthetics and health. The general concept is simple. There is a perimeter that acts as a display to the products. We used fluid lines that are characteristic on the one hand, and that on the other very well fit into this concept of dense liquid. Finally there is a central part, which has the function of testing, where you can try the different derivatives of this particular mud.