LECTURE

The week dedicated to architecture and interior design will be enriched by interesting lectures given by internationally renowned designers.

A unique opportunity for insiders, or for simple enthusiasts, who want to attend free focuses dedicated to the culture of the project.

Re-Use. A sustainable strategy for a better, alternative, design

21st century is provoking us asking for a radical shift in relation to the previous time. We are moving from Fordist, rigidly functional city to fluid and multitasking urban spaces; we must limit source consumption instead of thinking to the world as a limitless paradise of materials; we are living into an ever-changing community which needs careful form of dialogue and redefinition of the nature of public places; the limit between public and private has been blurred by social media; environmental issues are at the center of every form of design but they don’t have to become a form of language instead a way of thinking and acting; new generations uses in a different way imagination, memories, languages and their bodies and we need to consider this social and symbolic metamorphosis considering the design of future spaces.

This superficial agenda, which represents some of the “hot spots” in the contemporary architectural culture, and the tactic of Re-Use is one of the smartest solution possible.

STORES THAT TELL STORIES

ONLINE VERSUS OFFLINE

The rise of e-commerce has disrupted the retail industry. As fashion stores are more than
ever not just a place to make purchases, but to experience the brand legacy as well as to
touch and feel the products, architects are called to create spaces able to tell unique
compelling stories.

THE GOLD BALANCE

A successful concept store reflects the balance between different and apparently not
always converging elements: creativity, excellence, ability to make people dream about
it, cost control. Retail spaces are designed to contribute to the creation of wealth, both
directly and indirectly.
As a result, their design cannot ignore rigorous cost control.
The goal to pursue is a project that expresses “Timeless Design”, a space that evokes
amazement and wonder over time.

HUNTING FOR UNIQUENESS

Architect Pironi will share an overview of the most inspiring fashion retail design spaces
worldwide.

ARCHITECTURE & FASHION

Fashion architectural spaces are constantly evolving and changing in coordination with Brand’s different heritages and personalities.
Architecture and Fashion share similar conceptual backgrounds: they both are inspired by art, science and technology, both are communication vehicles, both are based on structure, shape, and on the interpretation of the “ornament”. Both are influenced by the surrounding society with all its different layers and complexity.
The spaces we create for fashion are connected to this understanding being the “live” places where Fashion, Design and Architecture meet and coexist harmonically having similar conceptual backgrounds.
We try to create a balanced environment where Fashion is displayed in an architectural context that is not competing or interfering with the displayed product. The architecture should play as a silent stage and perfect showcase that contributes to the understanding of the product and its message.
Behind every Fashion Concept Design there is always a very meticulous work of study and analysis of the products and collections to be displayed together with a deep understanding of where the brand is going In terms of communication and personality.
Our approach is multidisciplinary, unconventional and contaminated by our experiences in other fields and everything that surrounds us, creating spaces and experiences that are always different and unique.

Role of the Architect in Fashion Business

My collaborations in the world of fashion have led me to understand how important all the spaces dedicated to the creation and distribution of a collection are for the success and the development of a brand.

The experience with Moschino has been extremely important to this end: with the brand, we created a pervasive aesthetic that follows the collection from the showroom to the boutiques, thus creating an experience that from the buyer moves on uninterrupted to the customer.

The long collaboration with MSGM has been of great interest: once the brand moved from the headquarters we designed and built for it, the space was transformed into an eminent contemporary art gallery.

Similarly, work with Emilio Pucci gave us the opportunity to imagine and create a completely new workspace concept.

DESIGN FOR LONGEVITY

FROM FUNCTIONAL CREATIVITY TO DESIGN FOR A BETTER FUTURE

Italian design in the nineteenth century has played an irreplaceable role in all manufacturing fields,
becoming the vehicle through which objects and products become bearers of new meanings, mirror of an intelligent and functional creativity.
Today designer role is claimed to a new challenge, the one to build a better, more sustainable future.

DESIGNING A BETTER FUTURE WITHOUT SACRIFICING BEAUTY & SENSUALITY

Designing is an act of responsibility towards contemporary society. The production processes that we can implement during the conception phase are strictly linked to that assumption of responsibility. As Paola Antonelli affirmed in a recent keynote rather than trying to prevent our extinction we should instead design ourselves a “beautiful ending”, thinking of our legacy without sacrificing sensuality, beauty, elegance, all of the different tropes that make design so interesting.

DESIGN FOR LONGEVITY

Unless opting for organic material could seem the obvious choice there are other factors that have a
tremendous impact on the sustainability of an environment Interior designers should consider the lifespan of any material they plan to use. The goal of designing for longevity is to design durable and timeless spaces and suppress the urge to change the whole design every couple of years.
Creating timeless design is to choose quality over quantity, classics over trendy.

TIMELESS DESIGN FOR FASHION INDUSTRY

The fleeting nature of the relation between architecture and fashion must always be one of the driving forces that boosts the creativity coming from the collaboration and the bond between these
disciplines. In my retail projects I try to convey an image of elegance out of time, creating a space that firmly conveys its longevity contrasting the extremely fast consumerism of the items it actually
represents. Moreover, designing flexible spaces is one of the keys to longevity. Easy maintenance is an important part of designing for longevity; when spaces are hard to maintain, regular changes are inevitable and result in more resource consumption and waste creation. Every time we start a new project we aim at creating design that goes beyond time, that can always be contemporary and never inadequate. A “ always current” design, thanks to the clear and essential shapes.

TIMELESS SIMPLICITY
by Claudio Silvestrin

Modern man, I believe, has an absolute need for this architecture of salvation.
This is, I believe, the mission chosen by Claudio Silvestrin: to offer contemporary man the chance to rebuild a centre and to re-establish a sense of order and stability in the real world. And since the modern world is perpetually flooded by inconsistent images, the assertion of a centre is in itself a powerful, almost violent act.
In Claudio Silvestrin’s architecture, the centre is a place of silence where noise has been vanquished; a linear place where disorder has been rendered non-existent; a mysterious, almost secret space where the present is suspended, where the sacred appears and the eternal is disclosed.
It is a place in which fragmented man can rediscover the roots of his culture and tradition, through earth, water, air, fire, wood, stone and light. In absolute simplicity and complete unity: aplosis. It is a place of purification, in which to rediscover one’s own harmony, energy, and unique sense of self: one’s own essence, and the ability to move beyond.
Francesco Alberoni