Marco Piva

Marco Piva is one of the world’s most renowned architects and designers. Born in Milan in 1952, he distinguished himself from the beginning of his career for his continuous pursuit of innovation. After graduating in architecture from the Milan Polytechnic in 1976, he founded Studiodada Associati, which soon became a reference point for radical architects and designers. In addition to architecture and product design, the studio was committed to research on materials and technologies, leading to the creation of Tecnodada, a service agency for industry professionals. When this experience came to an end in 1988, Piva opened an office with one department dedicated to architectural and urban projects and the other to interior and product design; in 2002 Atelier Design, an R&D branch for industrial design, was added to the roster. Today the studio, with offices in Shanghai, is a permanent laboratory where innovative solutions are tested for every project, no matter how large or small.

In the architectural field, the Marco Piva office specializes in the creation of luxury accommodations, including the T Hotel in Cagliari, the DoubleTree Hilton in Padua, the NH Hotel Laguna Palace in Venice, the renovation of the Hotel Gallia in Milan and three suites at the Hotel Exedra in Rome. In the retail sector, Piva has designed shop windows for the prestigious Bulgari brand; he has worked on luxury residential projects in Abu Dhabi and Osaka. In China, the office is active in designing master plans for ports, cultural centres, tourist villages and business hubs. Marco Piva’s approach envisages continuity between landscape, architecture and interior design. Every project is carefully planned down to the smallest detail, from its functional and formal characteristics to the study of materials, lighting and furnishings. Piva experiments with product design and in-depth research on materials, which he considers expressive tools that give projects strength and added value. Examples are the Reglax glass chair for Reflex, the District collection of aluminium furniture for Altreforme, the Luwan seat, the Visionnaire glass console for Marty and the surprising free-standing marble washbasins for Kreo.

Marco Piva has designed products for many brands, including Tisettanta, Poliform, iGuzzini, Moroso, Oikos. His most recent work includes the velvet Scala armchair for Alma Design (2019), the striking free-standing Astro washbasin in Cristalmood® for Antonio Lupi Design (2020), the futuristic On Air elevator for IGV Group (2020) and the Aliante table for Natuzzi (2021). Throughout his career, Piva and his office have received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Good Design Awards between 2011 and 2017 for the Witch lamp by Leucos, the Edge door by Lualdi, the Zeit handle by Mandelli 1953 and the Arte kitchen by Euromobil, in addition to very recent IF design awards for the Book radiator by Caleido (2018) and the Wallpaper design awards for the Admeto coffee table by Visionnaire (2021).

22 products