pierluigi cerri. he created the corporate identity and architectural design of prada buildings in italy and the usa ..............................................................


pierluigi cerri


was born in orta, italy in 1939 .
graduated from the milan polytechnic university, cerri works in the planning sector
of architecture, industrial design, exhibition design, graphic design and shipbuilding.
in 1974 he co-founded the gregotti associati architecture firm.
in 1976 he was the visual director of the venice biennale.
he has been responsible for the visual identity of the kunst-und ausstellungshalle
in bonn and currently hold a similar position with palazzo grassi in venice.
he has designed book collections for the foremost italian publishers including electa,
einaudi, bollati boringhieri, fabbri, bompiani, skira'.
he has staged exhibitions, shows and installations in: idz-berlin,
centre georges pompidou-paris, design zentrum-stuttgart, sogetsu kaikan-tokyo,
lingotto-turin, museo de arte contemporaneo-madrid, accademia di brera-milan,
science museum-london, palazzo reale-milan, moderna museet-stockolm,
musee d'art moderne-paris.
he taught architecture semiotics with umberto eco at the milan polytechnic.
he has designed the cruise ships 'costa classica', 'costa romantica',
'costa victoria' and the motor yacht 'blue velvet'.
in 1995 he received the italian compasso d'oro award for excellent design.
1998 he designed the public areas, exhibition halls and temporary facilities of the lisbon expo.
1998 he founded cerri & associati.
he designed the visual identity of ferrari auto and is responsable
for the image of unifor, thonet, iguzzini, palazzo grassi and pirelli.
he designed the new trussardi stores in milan and paris
and created the corporate identity and architectural design
of prada headquaters buildings in italy and the usa.
he designed objects for unifor, b&b italia, poltrona frau, fontana arte, de padova,
arflex, molteni & c., fusital ... and made scenic installations for the italian TV
channels rai 3 and rai 2.
---
more info on the design work of pierluigi cerri
http://www.unifor.it
http://www.depadova.it
http://www.poltronafrau.com
http://www.prada-americascup.com

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we met pierluigi cerri in his milanese studio on november 27, 2002.
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what is the best moment of the day?
the afternoon, when there is a sort of balance between
what I am doing and my state of mind.

what kind of music do you listen to at the moment?
contemporary music, especially berio when he finishes
unfinished symphonies by earlier composers.

do you listen to the radio?
I listen to the radio a lot.

what books do you have on your bedside table?
a very entertaining book called prince otto,
written by robert louis stevenson,
published by a new publisher called 'nottetempo'.

do you read design magazines?
the usual three or four.

where do you get news from?
from the internet.

do you notice how women are dressing?
do you have any preferences?
I like women who know how to mix what they have.

what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing?
short socks.

do you have any pets?
I have a boxer named clyde.

where do you work on your designs and projects?
in lots of places.

who would you like to design something for?
for an intelligent client. I think that architects and designers
produce interesting objects when the client is intelligent.

when you were a child, what did you want to be?
a chemist.

do you discuss your work with architects and designers?
it happens rarely.

describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it.
essential. I work by removing strata.

from gregotti associati to your latest works
can you give us an idea of the evolution of your work?
there is a sort of continuity enriched by new experiences.
my work encompasses a wide field of discipline.
I try to unify them in a single thought.
gregotti associati has done interesting things in this sense.

which of your work has given you the most satisfaction?
for a certain amount of time I think they were cruise ships.

is there any designer and/or architect, you appreciate a lot?
mies van der rohe.

and those still active, are there any particular ones you appreciate?
there are quite a few, I especially like ettore sottass who is extremely unlike me,
I like his style and his objects.

can you tell us a little about the work you do for prada?
I made a red line for prada.

see the quicktime clip, 232 kb.

what are you afraid of regarding the future ?
I'm not afraid of the future.
if I look at my past, I should have always feared the future.
I'm not afraid of changes, you need to understand them, sometimes that is harder.





pierluigi cerri
© designboom






'tools' table and containers for depadova






table system 'naòs' for unifor






'titano' table and 'lola' chair for poltrona frau








red prada logo on sportswear, visual design of
prada's 'luna rossa' at america's cup...
---
the questionaire of marcel proust (1871 - 1922) .......................................................................................................................................................
(in age of fourteen proust was given an english album "confessions : an album to record thoughts, feelings".
seven years later marcel proust published this questionaire)
in the literary salons in nineteenth century paris, this parlour game was a popular amusement.
for designboom pierluigi cerri has answered these 'old fashioned' questions.
.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

the main traits of my character.
I don't know.

a quality I desire in a man.
transparency.

a quality I desire in a woman.
no comment.

what I appreciate most among my friends.
sense of humor.

my principal defect.
if I knew I would fix it.

my favourite occupation.
mulling over things.

my dream of felicity / happiness.
any happiness.

what would be the biggest misfortune for me.
depression.

who I would like to be.
more willing.

where I would like to live.
here is good.

the colour I prefer.
cobalt.

the flower I love.
wild flowers.

the bird I prefer.
the bird of paradise.

my favourite authors.
proust, gadda.

my favourite poets.
k.krauss.

my heroes in fiction.
the ones in frank capra films.

my heroines in fiction.
idem.

my favourite composers.
mozart, berio, beatles.

my favourite artists.
matisse.

my heroes in real life.
people like gino strada

my heroines in history.
sissi (romy schneider)

my favourite names.
they are attached to people.

what I dislike the most.
fast food.

the historic characters I dislike most.
from hitler to stalin.

the military enterprise I like the most.
I don't like military enterprises.

the reformation I appreciate the most.
women's vote.

nature’s gift I would like to have.
unbelieveable intelligence.

how I would like to die.
I would like to be the first person never to die

my soul's present condition.
peaceful

the faults I can bear.
almost all

my motto.
today we're here, tomorrow who knows

cover of casabella, design magazine.






dan flavin catalogue edited by the prada foundation,
graphics by pierluigi cerri






development of 'costa victoria' cruiser.






interior design of the 'blowzy' motor yacht.








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