“Elegancy With Built-In Errors”: 14 Questions for Piero Lissoni

What do a sleek silver Alessi espresso maker, an alpine flat in Trentino-Alto Adige, and a lush Turks and Caicos resort have in common? That would be Piero Lissoni.

Add any descriptor before “design,” and the Italian multi-hyphenate does it: graphic design, product design, interior design, landscape design, to name just a few. If you’ve admired chairs, glassware, and sofas from the likes of Knoll, B&B Italia, and Fritz Hansen, stopped into showrooms from New York to Milan, or stayed in luxe hotels the world over, you’ve likely seen the work of Lissoni & Partners.

Recently we got the chance to send Lissoni our burning design questions. Read on for his signature design moves.

Above: The AKA Nomad hotel in New York; interiors by Lissoni & Partners. Photograph by Veeral Patel.

Remodelista: First design love?

Piero Lissoni: I’m unfaithful, so I can’t talk about first loves. However, just maybe, Scandinavian design.

R: What’s an instance of an unexpected source of inspiration, and where did it show up in your work?

PL: One example: Some time ago my flight was held up for a couple of hours on the runway at Tokyo, and while waiting I started gazing at the way the engine of the jumbo jet was attached to the wing. This gave rise to a table.

R: What material is always worth the splurge?

PL: Everything and nothing is worth spending money on. There’s no material that is more or less worth the splurge.

Above: Moody light at the AKA Nomad in Alexandria Virginia. Photograph by Veeral Patel.

R: When it comes to a palette: classic neutrals or dark and moody, and why?

PL: Neutral and classic tones, because the things that the space will contain must be allowed to take on a life of their own. For Arc at South Bank, our latest Caribbean project, we are using soft, natural materials like wood, stone and a neutral color palette to exude a refined yet inviting Caribbean ambiance. I like dark tones because in that way I can control the light, and they’re not at all melancholic.

R: What do you minimize in a home? What do you like to exaggerate?

PL: I minimize the impact of the architecture and generally exaggerate with the windows. At Arc, the “Sky Villas” are designed with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors framing breathtaking ocean views so that indoor and outdoor living are almost seamless.

Above: Wonky glass Transformer Vases, designed by Piero Lissoni for Glas Italia. Photograph by Paola Pansini.

R: Your signature move in designing a kitchen?

PL: At an early age, I started designing kitchens as if they were professional restaurant kitchens. Without doubt the islands.

R: The best countertop material?

PL: Steel.

R: The essential light fixture is….

PL: A Murano glass chandelier.

Above: Grand x intimate at the Dorothea Hotel Budapest. Photograph by Tommaso Sartori.

R: What gesture do you like to repeat?

PL: This. (He makes a gesture putting his thumb against his index finger, drawing a line in the air from right to left to indicate “thinness”.)

R: The most durable wood floors are….

PL: Without doubt oak and chestnut.

Above: The Dorothea Hotel Budapest. Photograph by Tommaso Sartori.

R: Design pitfall to avoid?

PL: Trying to make things do too many “jobs.”

R: And best move to add a sense of elegance?

PL: Change the proportions or make a mistake with the color.

Above: Lissoni’s sketch for the Alessi Pina espresso maker.

R: Three objects you couldn’t live without?

PL: The Arco floor lamp by Castiglioni, any of the Eames chairs, Richard Sapper’s coffee maker.

R: Design maxim you live by?

PL: Simplicity and, when I can, elegance with built-in errors.

N.B.: Featured image of the AKA Nomad in Alexandria, Virginia by Veeral Patel.