Interview with Pierangelo Brandolisio
I was born on the 1st of October 1966 in Bern, Switzerland. In May 1999 I'd graduated I.U.A.V. - Venice/ITALY in architecture, and found The Brandolisio architecture studio.
Designer Interview
22 October 2019
I’d graduated IUAV, the Institute in Venice. I have always paid particular attention to detail as a constructive, but not decorative element. I am greatly influenced by the Italian Master Carlo Scarpa. I have always dreamed of being able to freely express my thoughts without impositions, as often happens in architecture. The world of design certainly offers you more expressive freedom.
I belong to that Italian reality, in which the studio is conceived as the ancient workshops of master craftsmen, where everything begins, takes shape and gets completed.
The graphic sign becomes a medium of an idea, an expression of function, of form and beauty.
I like challenges, reflections. I think that every new project is stimulating.
Definitely "Baco". I have dedicated almost a year of work for its perfection, having to design also a work bench for the construction of its frame, entirely hand-sewn and with no visible welding.
I designed a bed Dune for my American Akita.
It is important to know the potential and constructive limits that each material offers, only in this way you have no limits of thinking.
After a journey, I return always to the studio full of new ideas ... certainly in the morning with my rested head .
I constantly ask myself how many lines can I remove, how to make an essential project, where nothing can be added and nothing can be removed.
I always live different emotions, from those sad emotions for the fear of not being able to develop a project well, to those emotions, that lead me to be happy, enthusiastic for the result achieved.
Emotions of happiness, and at the same time of responsibility, because of the awareness that my design must satisfy the functional aspects for which it was conceived.
I believe the ability to combine the three key adjectives: duration, function and beauty, makes a design successful.
The aspects that I always consider as priorities are those related to the function. Every project borns to satisfy specific functions.
The designer offers society sometimes new and sometimes revisited tools. Then, if society appreciates them, it takes them as its’ own.
Design is at the center of every social interest. It will always take more social attention, because a winning idea is able to move the world's largest economies.
My last exhibition was in spring 2018, "Salone Internazionale del Mobile", an international event in Milan.
My inspiration can come from a fishing day in the lagoon, a boat ride, a walk in the mountains, from a city observing, from anything surrounds us. Curiosity is the first source of inspiration. Therefore, our context and places of interest are always influential. It is like a choice of a book.
It is difficult to describe yourself, however I look for the essentiality and the purity of the compositional lines. During any design process I ask myself what to remove and what not to add.
I live in a small town on the edge of the city, with the advantage of being surrounded by many companies and master craftsmen, and with the limits of being distant from the great cultural centers such as Milan or London.
I work with companies listening to their needs and proposing them various projects to discuss, thus moving to an executive phase.
Companies often are bound to their technological production processes and do not wonder about alternative solutions. A good designer must have cultural and technical knowledge, must know the materials and the techniques used.
From the first preparatory sketches that identify an idea, we move on to the 3D model, and to 2D drawings with many comparative tests. Having defined this path, we build the first prototype in order to review a whole series of reflections.
My favorite design items at home are: Sofa, TV, stools, dog bed and lights.
I am a dynamic person with many interests. I move between studio and construction site. At the same time I use to spend time with my dog in the garden.
For young designers I would advise always to pursue their ideas. We must not change course even if encountering great difficulties in the work pursuing. The solution to great difficulties often renders the work more original.
The positive site of being a designer is the opportunity to experiment, and to propose alternative things for society. The negative one is to be ready for criticism.
My “golden rule” in design is “the research for balance between form and function”.
The most important skills for a designer are: the advanced cultural knowledge, techniques and work methods, as well as the knowledge of materials and the ability to experiment with the different finishes each material offers. Good dexterity gives a further help.
During design at the same time I use many different tools, and from each of them I try to capture something useful.
Time is one of the most precious assets, so I try not to spend it in vain.
I can never quantify time, sometimes i need a few minutes, sometimes a good idea takes a month of hard work, because I don't find satisfactory solutions right away.
The most frequently asked question is: “Where did the idea of Brando come from and why?”
Due to the complexity and diversity of the themes dealt with, I believe that my most important job experience was the functional recovery of the Castle ”Ceconi" in Pielungo in Friuli.
Usually my clients are industrial and private companies, who expect from me something alternative and new.
Every demand I consider to be interesting, because it gives me an opportunity to express my vision and my thought.
I have new ideas I’d like to propose to society, but for the moment I prefer not to tell them.
Alone you could do nothing. I always work in team, made up of people never satisfied with the first result.
I am realizing the first important Italian and European experimental center in viticulture for a world leading company in Friuli Venezia Giulia.
People can contact me via telephone o via email.
No, your interview is very complete.