Chat&Coffee with…Marco Piva

Marco Piva, a graduate of the Milan Polytechnic, was a founding member of Studiodada Associati whose production became one of the most representative of the Radical Design period.

In the 1980s he opened Studio Marco Piva, whose activity ranges from large architectural projects to interior design and industrial design for prestigious furniture brands. A traveler even before being a designer, he studies and creates design solutions imbued with stylistic freedom, his objects are charged with emotionality and new symbology, the colors contrast all intellectualism and rigidity. He has carried out numerous architectural and interior design projects in Italy and abroad (Japan, Dubai, Russia). The protagonist of seminars, conferences, exhibitions and shows in Italy and abroad, he is the author of several publications and has to his credit numerous international awards and recognitions.

After so many colored lacquered surfaces, can it be said that exposed wood-including parquet-is regaining its decorative value in interior design?

There is definitely a return to the use of wood for interior finishes, to emphasize the beauty of wood. Even in the area of parquet there is experimentation with unusual shapes and finishes, in fact there are a whole series of very particular woods, very colorful, that look almost like rainbows: very daring, very strong, not very reassuring if you will, but they could still be avenues to take for certain types of spaces or certain types of customers. However, in my personal opinion, the most reassuring essences always win, those whose hardness, type of material is known, and which therefore give a certain guarantee of use and employment. If, on the other hand, they are spaces that vary a lot, such as in shopping malls or fittings, then there you can dare with more daring color schemes. For example, in the hotel field we have made very special dedicated suites in which we have experimented with white parquet floors or proposed varieties of wood with cool, contemporary chromatics, which turned out to be very interesting. In addition, there are series of woods that play on material texture on a three-dimensional level and give very strong material perceptions especially walking on them barefoot.

Can such a specific product as parquet flooring “interpret” current style trends?

In my opinion, the general stylistic trend sees the geometric aspect as the protagonist on the one hand, and thus parquet planks tend to be more and more important (there is a tendency to differentiate widths and geometries), and on the other hand the possibility of contamination between different materials. Thus parquet can accommodate metal or other material inserts that make the surface rich and rhythmic, no longer totally homogeneous. Finally, the newest and most contemporary-related colors are found in ethereal parquet floors, tending toward white, very clean.

Does parquet have no boundaries in the home? Can wood also conquer the walls?

Parquet, in bathrooms as well as in kitchens, is a fairly recent solution, although we still tend to use more materials such as marble, ceramics, and stoneware, due to a need for cleanliness. However, parquet can certainly work in these rooms, especially if they are contiguous to the living room and you want to favor a sense of visual continuity between the spaces. Obviously, the essence must be meticulously studied for strength, with specific treatments if necessary. The potential of the use of paneling is certainly many, and in our interventions we often use them to emphasize the richness and uniqueness of the projects in which, from time to time, an ad hoc, custom-designed covering is developed.

The concept of parquetry also involves ecological considerations, how much do you think they can affect purchasing choices?

The issue of eco-sustainability is very strong today, and for the same product, people go for the most environmentally friendly ones. The incidence of ecological sensitivity therefore justifies those sustainability pluses that companies propose.

How do you rate the training of new talent in architecture and design and their relationship with businesses?

Our academia, in this area, is certainly among the best recognized internationally. Our young recruits can enjoy a comprehensive and strategic education. However, it must unfortunately be admitted that the current crisis has changed the relationship between industry and designers. Industries are going through a period of great difficulty vis-à-vis a market, both in Italy and abroad, which, if it has not stopped, has, however, greatly slowed demand and become highly selective. Therefore, the most qualified companies prefer to invest in the work of the most experienced and best-known designers. The space for young people today is limited to real talent.