Park Associati
About
Park Associati is the only firm which we have come back to every year and thus we are able to see the reality of ups and downs of the firm. Park was founded in 1999 by Pilippo Pagliani and Michele Rossi. They started by doing mainly interior design projects then began to work on many architecture projects after winning several competitions. They collaborate with professionals from different areas; they value creative ideas and try to always bring innovation to the most mundane projects, balancing the reality with innovation and giving the client a commercial value while bringing quality to the projects. They work with different medias such as LED screens as they establish their practice, using technology and communication as "material" much in the same way glass and aluminum would be used.
Interview Ideas
Using the Same Materials in Different Ways- Park worked on 5 projects around year 2000 using different multimedia elements such as projection and LED screens. These projects help establish their practice. It was an interesting practice for them because each project is different from the other so even if they have constant elements in terms of materials and quality of space, every single project was different in terms of approach and the interpretation of the building. This is different from what you do when you do a visual identity for a big company where you usually duplicate the same concept all over again, trying to give the same image in different places and in different sizes.
- Park experiments and innovates. One interesting approach is to use multimedia and communication as materials. A lot of multimedia elements are now very common but at the time in year 2000 it was unusually to use them. The idea was not to have a big plasma screen hanging on the wall but to integrate it so all the communication elements are working like materials, always integrated into the space. That can take form as a window that can talk or a wall that can talk.
- System of Italian design was made with great names, maestros. That kind of collaboration between designers and manufacturers was essential to make the concepts into reality. You don't need to have a big infrastructure to do that. It was producing ideas and concepts. Now that has changed and they want more from us, let's say professionality. It's just a different way of working. Computers and more information and details, memories. So you need computers and more consultancies to work on the area.
Park believes in collaboration, teamwork. That's another thing that's different from the older generation. The product is from different ideas, no mother and father - it's a combination of different ideas. The project of this generation indicates that it's from the firm and not from a specific designer. It's much more difficult for the manufacturers to sell a chair now for a price that they have a sell. But for custom made products you pay for the knowledge and the way the work is done so they can still be competitive.
- The collaborative style has not been very well implemented in the education system. However the workshops are much better. Park worked on a workshop with students from interior design and fashion design for a new a hotel brand. The fashion students didn't know how to draw a plan but they brought corporate development perspectives that was very interesting. That's what Park do all the time, bringing people from different background to work together. It's not just you design the handle while I am doing the space. It's working together to bring the project some quality.
- Park always tries to create something so that the technology is not just showing off. When an emotional value is given to the communication. That can be timeless because it has a timeless equality. Emotional value means that when you have created a relationship with the customers and not just showing technology but you show how this technology can change their life then it's timeless even if the technology is not there anymore.
- It's a very exciting period for Park because Italy was a very frozen country for a long time. There is a lot that Italy doesn't want to change. It gives the idea of living in a museum sometimes if you live in Italy. Every culture needs to show what they think about the city in that moment, think about the building in that moment. But people have to be smart enough to change things. The system of development is very important.
It's strange because it's so many of those all at the same time in the next ten years. It's a bit of a shame because cities should be able to add to it every time. Milan is not a growing city. And now there will be so many buildings and houses the market, not knowing who will buy them. Maybe it'll help Milan to grow. Or it might be a problem.
- Park always tries to work with the idea of how the public space interacts with the private space. The line between public and private is very crucial. A straight line doesn't usually work. Inside space is important. Somebody will live there. It's a big responsibility. How the people will spend their lunch time in the office building will make a difference and change their lives. If you put a lot of new buildings on the market you can sell them, doesn't matter if they are good or bad. But If there are more choices on the market then the quality will win. The things that don't have quality will go down. The good developers understand that.
- Some designers are not Italian but they works in the Italian way. They are Italian in terms of working in the Italian way, working with companies, trying to understand the company, learning about things and details and incorporating them into the product. It's a way of thinking not just a style to create things that have meaning.
Video/Key Quotes
- Interior design is the way to get work in the beginning
- Multimedia elements integrated into the space
- Interior and Exterior of buildings
- Teamwork and Collaboration
- People from Different Backgrounds
- Emotional Value to Communication
- Thinking About the City
- Adding to Cities
What We Learned
Park Associati represents a newer generation of architects and designers who work collaboratively with people from different backgrounds while upholding the values of Italian Design in their practice, in their projects. They have established their firm based on innovation and experimentation. Through the many interviews with Park Associati we see the challenges a firm goes through the beginning and we learned that sometimes you just have to "stick with it" and keep trying to make it work.
Park values the space that people live in, the inside space of the buildings rather than just the outside appearance. And they believe that technology should be integrated into the space and be used as a material with the goal of providing people with an emotional experience, which can be timeless because it makes people's lives better.
We are now in a shift to globalization and multicultural collaboration and it is truly inspiring to see Park, a successful and relatively young firm, using this model to establish the quality of their projects and leading the future of design.