Renaissance man

“What I really wanted to be was a ski instructor, I am a designer by accident,” says Piero Lissoni, who, at 44, is not your average Italian designer. For a start, he is one of the happy few Italian designers under 50 to work for prestigious manufacturers such as Cassina, Boffi, Cappellini, Artemide and Kartell. In a country ruled by the older masters and attracted to young foreign talent rather than its home grown variety, this is no simple feat. Maybe his success lies in his multiplicity. He is also an architect, an art director and a communications man. His consultancy, Lissoni Associati, is an international multidisciplinary group which designs products and then constructs buildings in the same breath. In between, it has been known to create showroom spaces and promotional literature for the furniture manufacturers.

Trained as a “pure” architect – his father refused to support him financially in his skiing ambitions – Lissoni initially did the rounds of the Milanese architectural practices, surviving on small jobs. Unsatisfied with the outcome, he decided to set up his own studio in 1989. The idea behind Lissoni Associati, argues Lissoni, was not “the British notion of specialisation, which I think is a bit old fashioned. I believe in Renaissance culture, the notion of being an artisan, able to read, write, paint, sculpt, build.

“British culture is very focused on specialisation, which is great if you have outstanding talent. Jasper Morrison is a champion of design, so it’s right that he should be hyper-specialised. But I don’t feel [like] a champion, so I’d rather play different roles. To draw a football analogy, I would say Morrison is a perfect Ronaldo – pure talent – while I can play in defence, but also midfield. I am an eclectic player.”

Eclecticism is a reoccurring theme in Lissoni’s world, but behind the use of this ubiquitous word you can sense an attempt to rationalise a method of working. “I like the idea that my work can be done in a horizontal mode, from communication, to graphic design, product design and architecture.” Yet Lissoni stops at interiors and decorating jobs.

“With interiors I feel I’m forcing people’s lives. I like the idea of buildings as containers with space and light, but not the idea of furnishing a house. I am interested in industrial products within a house, the whole notion of serially produced design,” he says.

“It’s almost an ethical choice, for I believe design is either industrial design or furniture design; it must involve mass production. The one-off piece may be an extraordinary performance, but it’s not design,” he adds.

The man is on a mission. Lissoni sees the contemporary architect/ designer as a cosmopolitan figure, who understands graphics, photography, textiles, how to build products and spaces. “My point of view always starts from a consideration of space. When I design a kitchen system for Boffi or a sofa system for Cassina, I always think about where they are going to be placed. I believe in dimensional perception, that within that space there is a human being that moves around and moves the space; but within that whole movement, there are some fixed objects.”

Lissoni’s approach to clients changes constantly. For Kartell and Cappellini he is “a pure designer”, (notably with the One stackable shelving system for Kartell and with the Uni, Quattro and Tecno cabinet system for Cappellini), while for Boffi, Porro and Living his role diversifies. “I do everything, from design projects to promotional campaigns. My input [for them] is to consider the project in its 360 degrees. For Boffi I planned and designed its New York SoHo showroom, its factory and its furniture. But I don’t do it by myself, it’s a kind of marriage [between me and the company]. I’m completely part of the company’s building process and it’s not just about designing, it’s more complex and intriguing.”

So far his client list comprises a list of names that belong to the visionary set; those enlightened manufacturers that are setting the trends in contemporary design. The choice is not casual. “They came to me because of my approach and vice versa. I don’t choose companies which are just big and rich. It’s about the quality of work,” he says. With Cassina he works both as a designer and a communication manager/ art director for his and Philippe Starck’s range. Cassina’s Cologne and Milan trade fairs stands are also created by his studio. He is currently working on the 2001 Cassina range – to be launched at Cologne next January – while last month at the Orgatec furniture fair in Cologne he showed East End, a range of office furniture at Matteograssi’s stand.

So are they any other favourite names or projects Lissoni would like to work on? “I would love to design white and brown goods and, why not, bicycles. Still, I think I probably have the best clients in the design business, so there is very little left [that I would want to do],” he says. Among his fellow Italians he cites Achille Castiglioni, Vico Magistretti and Ettore Sottass as masters. Among his peers, he says Antonio Citterio is his favourite contemporary counterpart.

Lissoni believes that to single out “the best Italian names” is misleading, since designers should be considered as European rather than nation-bound; he says what makes a great designer is their character, not their nationality. He mentions Morrison, Tom Dixon and Marc Newson as examples. But most importantly, he asserts the seriality of good design. “The mistake is to think that a good designer is someone who just does one thing. In the past, it has happened that a designer has been turned into a sensation [just because of that]. I think of Droog Design, and it’s a great communication model, but if I look at the design, there are actually only two designers thereä A designer is not a true industrial, graphic designer or architect after only one project. Designers are those who repeat their ‘professionality’,” he adds.

Hence Starck is a model. “I find his ability to move across [disciplines] admirable. To continue to do things at 360 degrees, to be innovative with himself and projects, that’s real mastery,” he says. Less tolerance and sensationalism is what is needed in design, he adds. Since Londonbased show 100% Design opened, Lissoni has never missed a year, acting as a talent scout for the various Italian companies he works for. Yet he is genuinely shocked at the media attention that can often focus on “just one chair”. “Maybe we should look at the second and then the third, after which we can talk about it,” he says.

Lissoni seems to have a love-hate relationship with Britain. He comes to London at least once a month, often searching for new showroom sites for his clients. He was recently horrified by a visit to Damian Hirst’s London Pharmacy restaurant. The Hirst-inspired hospital chic did not make up for what Lissoni describes as “ghastly food”. Perhaps medical sterility as a backdrop is lost on an Italian food lover. Yet he is amused by the city’s buzz, and at the recent opening of Designers Block, during 100% Design, he keenly scoured the rooms, picking up new designs which he intends to link to a manufacturer in Italy. “You British invented the concept of industrial design with Queen Victoria,” he says. “Architecture, the daily care towards design, Pentagram, the culture of the good object, Conran and Habitat; it all comes from Britain,” he muses. Just don’t talk to him about polka dots.