anna rita emili

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer anna rita emili ("ARE") for their original perspective and innovative approach to design as well as their creative lifestyle, we are very pleased to share our interview with our distinguished readers.

DL: Could you please tell us a bit about your design background and education?

ARE : I had two extraordinary Italian masters who made me understand and appreciate the architecture in its details and specificities even dealing with utopian architectures. I’m talking about Alesandro Anselmi and Cristiano Toraldo from France (Superstudio ) then I got to know another teacher for whom I wrote a book and who taught me the importance of living nomadic and temporary architecture. I’m talking about Richard Buckminter Fuller

DL: What motivates you to design in general, why did you become a designer?

ARE : I have always loved architecture and building a space where people can live in an optimized way

DL: Did you choose to become a designer, or you were forced to become one?

ARE : I Did choose to become a designer-

DL: What do you design, what type of designs do you wish to design more of?

ARE : I love designing houses, starting from small temporary homes to big urban projects. I also love working on the interior spaces of the house, considering also the elements of furniture. I have a total vision of the roles of the architect exactly as it happened in the past . A good architect covers wide fields of competence from urban planning to the element of design

DL: What should young designers do to become a design legend like you?

ARE : be curious, to investigate the different disciplines of knowledge in order to then systematize them in an architectural project. It would be possible to build a theoretical thought in order to translate it into an architectural project

DL: What distinguishes between a good designer and a great designer?

ARE : Culture in the broadest sense of the term. the ability to synthesis, genius . Because we remember that architecture is the perfect synthesis between art and science. Technology (science) is learned but art is integrated within us .

DL: What makes a good design a really good design, how do you evaluate good design?

ARE : by the skills I have just mentioned

DL: What is the value of good design? Why should everyone invest in good design?

ARE : Good design is the one that brings together the triad of Vistruvius. that is firmitas, utilitas and venustas, but above all a design that takes into account the social aspect putting itself at the service of humanity

DL: What would you design and who would you design for if you had the time?

ARE : dream of designing a house among the olive trees

DL: What is the dream project you haven’t yet had time to realize?

ARE : a house among olive trees with a large SPA

DL: What is your secret recipe of success in design, what is your secret ingredient?

ARE : to know the past, to analyse the present and to project oneself into the future

DL: Who are some other design masters and legends you get inspired from?

ARE : I also like the architecture and culture of New Brutalism perche al contrario della temporaneità è una architettura essenziale e solida

DL: What are your favorite designs by other designers, why do you like them?

ARE : I like very much Rietveld’s schroder house because it represents the first step towards fragmentation and decomposition of the architectural volume, towards lightness of construction and towards the use of flat color in architecture

DL: What is your greatest design, which aspects of that design makes you think it is great?

ARE : I do not have a more beautiful design and I can never define my project perfect. to every completed work I am attacked by many doubts

DL: How could people improve themselves to be better designers, what did you do?

ARE : I have known the past perfectly, I am very curious about the present and I investigate it in every detail but I am projected exclusively into the future

DL: If you hadn’t become a designer, what would you have done?

ARE : the nutritionist , I like very much the medicinal plants and their extraordinary properties or I would have studied chemistry because I love matter and organic and inorganic materials their properties and their beauty and perfection

DL: How do you define design, what is design for you?

ARE : design is the perfect synthesis between construction, functionality and beauty

DL: Who helped you to reach these heights, who was your biggest supporter?

ARE : Unfortunately I never had a supporter , my career has always been very hard . I can only say that I have worked tenaciously without ever giving up even in times of great uncertainty in the work

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

ARE : the tenacity and obstinacy, the will to create and see something that comes from your mind by your thought and that can be used and enjoyed by other people.

DL: What were the obstacles you faced before becoming a design master?

ARE : There are still many obstacles. In italy it is not easy to work in the first place because we have the office that massacres us and also we have a very low architectural culture compared to other countries. This is why innovation is a very difficult and complicated thing

DL: How do you think designers should present their work?

ARE : I cannot answer this question. perhaps with conviction

DL: What’s your next design project, what should we expect from you in future?

ARE : I still don’t know what the future holds. Certainly I will continue to design focusing on the theme of movement extended to architecture, combining automation and smart home as fundamental elements to create spaces and flexible buildings and above all transformable and in line with nature

DL: What’s your ultimate goal as a designer?

ARE : I don’t have a final goal. let’s say I work the day

DL: What people expect from an esteemed designer such as yourself?

ARE : the creation of comfortable, flexible and original spaces

DL: How does design help create a better society?

ARE : Space affects the psychology of man. by reflection build functional spaces and architectures, comfortable and beautiful and in harmony with nature surely helps to improve men

DL: What are you currently working on that you are especially excited about?

ARE : I am working on the realisation of some projects for houses. In particular a small wooden house starting from an origami and a single-family residence starting from the analysis of an archaeological site located in its vicinity

DL: Which design projects gave you the most satisfaction, why?

ARE : more or less all of them, although as stated earlier, I am never fully satisfied when I complete a project.

DL: What would you like to see changed in design industry in the coming years?

ARE : I do not know perhaps a greater sense of awareness and responsibility. I think it is necessary to return to an ethics in architecture

DL: Where do you think the design field is headed next?

ARE : towards the ephemeral and evanescent. architecture is increasingly dematerializing and lightening until it becomes inexistent

DL: How long does it take you to finalize a design project?

ARE : Italian times are always very long in the first place as mentioned because of bureaucracy and unnecessarily complicated regulations. For example, to build one of the last houses we lost two years

DL: When you have a new design project, where do you start?

ARE : There is no beginning because the project is already complete and completed in my mind when I start to transform it into drawing

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

ARE : Have fun working and never give up

DL: Do you think design sets the trends or trends set the designs?

ARE : are the trends set the designs because design is the expression of society and man’s thinking

DL: What is the role of technology when you design?

ARE : technology is very important because it is a tool that helps to express an idea

DL: What kind of design software and equipment do you use in your work?

ARE : all the programs related to design , but never abandon the model because only that gives you the true sense of volume and construction

DL: What is the role of the color, materials and ambient in design?

ARE : also the colors affect the psyche so they are very important. I work a lot on the color and colors represented by the different materials

DL: What do you wish people to ask about your design?

ARE : I wouldn't know

DL: When you see a new great design or product what comes into your mind?

ARE : I think how I could improve it.

DL: Who is your ideal design partner? Do you believe in co-design?

ARE : Do not believe in a collective project. The project is like a book born from your mind and can not be shared. It would become a hybrid

DL: Which people you interacted had the most influence on your design?

ARE : I would say none

DL: Which books you read had the most effect on your design?

ARE : the books are many from authors such as Frampton to Bruno Zevi , from Banham to Aldo Rossi, from Purini to Bob Venturi

DL: How do you feel about all the awards and recognition you had, is it hard to be famous?

ARE : obviously I am very very happy My hard work is rewarded

DL: What is your favorite color, place, food, season, thing and brand?

ARE : the color is black, the place is my city Rome, the food is pizza , the season is autumn, the object is the bag the brand is Kartell

DL: Please tell us a little memoir, a funny thing you had experienced as a designer?

ARE : I remember that at some awards I have made mistakes for example once to the appointment I did not show up because I did not hear my name mentioned . a terrible figure

DL: What makes your day great as a designer, how do you motivate yourself?

ARE : Do a site survey during the works and everything is fine

DL: When you were a little child, was it obvious that you would become a great designer?

ARE : absolutely not

DL: What do you think about future; what do you see will happen in thousand years from now?

ARE : In a thousand years maybe there will be no more our planet and humans will have moved to other worlds

DL: Please tell us anything you wish your fans to know about you, your design and anything else?

ARE : that I enjoy it when I design