Collection: Paolo Piva

Paolo Piva (Adria 1950 - Vienna 2017) was an influential Italian architect and designer. In 1968, he enrolled in the IUAV (University Institute of Architecture in Venice), where he studied architecture and visual arts. In Venice, Piva had the opportunity to meet personalities of the calibre of Manfredo Tafuri, Carlo Aymonino and Carlo Scarpa. He graduated in 1973 with a seminal thesis entitled "Social Housing in Vienna from 1918 to 1934", but he was already designing furniture for Fama in Adria, one of the most important factories in the Polesine area. His career was divided between architecture, teaching and product design. In 1975, he collaborated with the Institute of History and Architecture in Venice on the exhibition, "Vienna rossa: la politica residenziale nella Vienna socialista" (Red Vienna: housing policy in socialist Vienna), which took up his thesis topic. His encounter with one of the exhibition's partners, the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna (Akademie Der Angewandten Kunst) led him to divide his time between Venice and Vienna, where he taught design since 1988 and lived with his family.

Piva's career as an architect and designer goes hand in hand. His most important buildings include the Kuwait Embassy in Qatar (1980), the renovation of the Charles Jourdan headquarters in Paris (1985), and the restoration of Palazzo Remer in Venice (1986). In product design, Piva worked with some of the most prestigious brands starting in the 1970s. The concept behind his work was simple: every object should be characterised by aesthetic beauty and last over time. This necessarily implied the use of high-quality materials and almost maniacal attention to detail. His essential and minimalist design is tempered by out-of-context geometric elements, characterising his style.

His long collaboration with B&B Italia resulted in creations that have become design icons, like the limited production Alanda coffee table (1980). Used in the film American Psycho and a highly sought-after collector's item, it was reissued posthumously in 2018 by B&B Italia under the name Alanda '18. Many other objects designed in the '80s, now out of production, are sought by collectors, like the Oliver lamp for Lumenform (1978); the Arca sofa and leather Arcadia chairs for B&B Italia (1985); the Meridiana lamps for Stefano Cevoli; and Lazy Light for Luxo. During his long career Paolo Piva designed kitchens for Burelli Cucine, Poliform and Dada; chairs for Thonet; armchairs and sofas for Wittmann. Some pieces have been put back into production: the Aura chair or the Camin sofa by Wittmann; the DS218 stool by de Sede; the Boss sofa by Giovannetti; and the above-mentioned Alanda coffee table. Among the more recent collections: the Artex and Alea modular kitchens; the Onda bed for Poliform; the Andy'13 sofa, and the Area pouf/table for B&B Italia.