The value of the project in its dialog with preexisting elements, the surrounding environment, the actors in the process and the future
The ISPLORA editorial staff had the opportunity to meet and ask some questions to the Piuarch firm, a way to get to know its work and design philosophy.
The firm, founded in 1996 by Francesco Fresa, Germán Fuenmayor, Gino Garbellini and Monica Tricario, works in the field of architecture, ranging from the design of office and retail buildings to the development of residential complexes, cultural recovery and urban renewal interventions, paying constant attention to the values of environmental quality and the relation with the context.
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Deeply rooted in Italy and strongly connected to the Italian design culture, Piuarch was capable of becoming internationally known thanks to its cooperation with some of the major international fashion brands, including Dolce&Gabbana, Gucci, Fendi and Givenchy, as well as design experimentations in international competitions and social architecture projects.
The firm, named “2013 Italian Architect of the Year” and winner of two Gold Medals for Honorable Mention at the Milan Triennale, has been exhibited several times at the Venice Biennale of Architecture and has obtained numerous publications and dedicated monographs.
Photo: Gucci Hub, © Andrea Martiradonna by gentle courtesy of PiuarchCan you tell us how your firm was born? Which is your scope of references, which are your origins and your background? How is your firm organized today (staff, approach, etc.)?
We met in the early ‘90s when we were working together at Vittorio Gregotti’s firm. Four different backgrounds crossed creating a complementary unicum.
Francesco Fresa, who has Roman origins, studied at the Berlin School of Architecture; German Fuenmayor, Venezuelan, studied in Caracas and Milan; Gino Garbellini, native of Valtellina, studied engineering at the Politecnico in Milan; this is where Monica Tricario studied architecture.
Our personalities met focusing on a common vision, based on the understanding of the urban context, preserving its cultural, social and artistic facets, as well as on the cooperation with other disciplines. This aspect reveals a lot about our work, which finds constant references in nature, culture, music, art and the history of urbanism.
Starting from a group of four, we are now 40 professionals in our firm based in Brera. Here, coordinated by us, the partners, and our associates, we develop projects in work groups which create synergies according to the personalities involved in them, constantly pursuing dialog and attention for details.
When describing your projects you often use models, drafts and evocative images, could you tell me something more about the compositional process behind your projects? Which references and languages do you use?
The process feeds on our different professional backgrounds, also influenced by other aspects such as the cultural and social-political one. We and our staff come from different places, this is another important factor which favors a continuous and stimulating exchange and gives an added value to the design process. The references to draw on are therefore manifold and influence our work, creating an osmotic relation between our backgrounds and the project we are working on.
Although it does not have a codified style, the language which is often expressed in our work is the artistic one inspired by the 20th-century movements, from geometric abstraction to kinetic art.
What strongly emerges from your architecture is the relation with the physical and cultural context, from the dialog with the landscape (Latteria Sociale Soresina – Dairy Store) to the one with the built fabric (the Porta Nuova building in Milan), to the references to Dolce & Gabbana’s Sicily or Givenchy’s distinctive sartorial features. How could you define this ever-changing relation in each project?
We believe that the uniqueness of each project is due to the surrounding environment and preexisting elements we deal with. Different inspirations stem from the initial analysis and research, influenced by references inferred from the cultural context and our past experiences, as well as, and that is the case of buildings for fashion houses, the identity of the brand we are working with. Cooperating with the client, mainly during the development of the project, really allows us to design container buildings capable of enhancing the value of the company spirit without compromising our mission, finding the right balance between these two different languages.
A different method is needed when taking part in competitions, a very important activity for our profession, both as an exercise and for the opportunities they provide. They are actually an important occasion for dialog and exchange with ourselves and other architecture firms and since they have precise requirements, the approach needs to be very accurate and you are forced to fine-tune the ability to understand the needs and communicate them in the project.
They also provide the opportunity to implement the different types of knowledge of our team, from the knowledge of design of our architects and engineers to interior and graphic design, guaranteeing continuous professional development.
Photo: Porta Nuova Building, © Andrea Martiradonna by gentle courtesy of Piuarch
Photo: Dolce&Gabbana Factory, © Andrea Martiradonna by gentle courtesy of Piuarch
In your architectural production you have given space to explorations and experimentations in terms of urban renewal, from the conversion of industrial spaces such as the Gucci Hub to the “collective” modules of public spaces developed by Espaço in São Paulo, Brazil. What does developing these projects mean for your firm? Which are the goals and the expected results?
We are increasingly fascinated by the idea of a project which starts from restoring and redeveloping buildings, exactly because of the attention and care we show towards the renovation of urban spaces and their new uses. As to installations such as Espaço, we strongly believe in the social and educational value of these projects, which have proven their efficacy in terms of community engagement. In this specific case, it is interesting to observe the legacy of the project, which guaranteed the empowerment of the users of the project itself.
The children have become owners as well as primary beneficiaries of the space, giving it many shapes and uses and guaranteeing its future continuity. The positive feedback guaranteed the development of the project in other areas of the city of São Paulo by the will of the director of the urban infrastructures of the city.
Photo: Espaço, ©Piuarch
You have created projects in different parts of the world, working on different scales, from the small scale of installations to the scale of large urban buildings, never losing the relation with the “dimension of things”, constantly putting on scene different topics and always building with an attention to material and details. Is this part of what you call “craftsmanship” or are there other aspects you consider crucial? For instance, the relation with clients, also considering that most of your projects are connected to important fashion houses?
There are different factors that contribute to the success of each of our projects. “Craftsmanship” expresses itself in our attention to detail, in freehand drawings and the great dexterity shown in creating our models.
In terms of materials instead, we are constantly looking for new materials and new uses, because of the absence of a specific style also in this sense. We often choose natural materials such as stone and wood, sometimes untreated and sometimes of high quality. We are especially interested in how a material connects with light, thus leading to a great use of glass and metal surfaces, to create a kinetic and unique brightness in the interiors.
Another crucial aspect are relations in a broad sense, with both places and evocative images and people. We believe in the importance of creating a personal and professional exchange, which can have a positive impact on the quality of our projects. A relation which finds expression in the cooperation with all the actors involved (building companies, suppliers, consultants, etc.) and in the relation with our clients. This allows us to work always keeping high levels of quality, with great attention to building details.
Photo: Boutique Givenchy, © Kyungsub Shin by gentle courtesy of Piuarch
What do you expect for your firm in 2019? Are there any projects in the works or that are about to be completed (Fabbrica Fendi in Toscana and Complesso Unicredit in Milan)?
We have different projects in the works, in both a literal and metaphorical sense. Some are still only on paper, others are under construction, like the Collegio di Milano and the Congress Centre in Riva del Garda, the latter will be finally completed after a long wait lasted 11 years. Our hope for 2019 is to continue working on large-scale projects with the ambition to cooperate with important international and local bodies and companies, in the attempt to maintain a virtuous balance between the high quality of our projects and their environmental and social value.
