Barbara Fassoni

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Barbara Fassoni ("BF") 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?

BF : After finishing my studies at the Politecnico di Milano and Escuela Tecnica Superior de Arquitectura in Seville, I had the opportunity to work for more than five years in Lotus International, an established Architectural Magazine. There I understood that I wanted to be an architect instead of talking about architecture. After two years employed in a company, I founded my own company in Milan, designing branches and offices Banks, and some residential projects for friends and relatives. After the financial crisis and my maternity, I was offered to join one of the most prominent Italian media company taking care together with a team of architects, of the design and management of their whole estate. In 2015 my family and I moved to London, deciding to turn the page and open a new chapter of our life. A new exciting challenge for my profession. As soon as I arrived, I founded BFA Architects.

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

BF : At high school, I studied classical letters, and I wanted to be a lawyer. But then I met the History of Art, and I fell in love. The day I discovered modern art at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, so I took my decision. Architecture, design and art have become a real passion in my life.

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

BF : It was entirely my choice.

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

BF : Our firm works on a different scale of projects, from facades and buildings projects to office spaces and residential interiors. Large scale projects and residential buildings are our favourites. I wish to design a hotel in the future.

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

BF : I think they have to love what they do and be up to date.

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

BF : It’s the extra mile, is the love and passion for what you are doing, no matter what.

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

BF : The outstanding design adds value to our life. It offers users new perspectives. It educates people, moves brains, and can open people’s aesthetic to new horizons, accomplishing a sense of well-being in the meantime.

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

BF : Good design means better quality of life. Everyone should invest in good design to improve quality of life and equality of opportunity.

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

BF : A Skyscraper.

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

BF : A project for a public place, such as a concert hall or a library.

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

BF : Be focused, be mindful on details, and enjoy it.

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

BF : Zaha Hadid, Kazuyo Sejima, Rem Koolhaas, Herzog and de Meuron, Adolf Loos.

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

BF : The Zaha Hadid’s Vitra Fire Station was an excellent opportunity to start to explore architectural boundaries as Hadid Architects works showed. The Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku is a new symbol of modernity.

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

BF : At the moment, Private Interior - a penthouse flat - is my most significant design. Every single detail has been designed to guarantee a unique and harmonious product. But hopefully, the most exceptional design is yet to come.

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

BF : Always learning and having curiosity and keeping up to date. Never stop questioning myself.

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

BF : I could have done many jobs since I'm a very passionate person with many interests. But I admit this is the job that makes me excited the most.

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

BF : Design, for me, is a way of life. Design is also a way to reach more people, touch them, and create a dialogue with them, improving values among people and the environment.

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

BF : My clients, they trusted me.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

BF : The other designers I mentioned before, and their passion was a vital source of inspiration for me.

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

BF : Each project has its obstacles. You have to go over it every time and show to others and yourself that you can make it. It's the process of growing, and those challenges and mistakes make your skills improve until you feel confident in managing all the aspects of your profession.

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

BF : Trying to convey the goodness of the project to the customer. Professionally, confident, and with great care.

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

BF : It’s a Congress Centre for a media company

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

BF : Alvar Aalto said: The ultimate goal of the architect ….is to create a paradise. Every house every product of architecture should be a fruit of our endeavour to build an earthly paradise for people.

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

BF : To make people’s lives better. At least my clients'.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

BF : Good design improves quality of life and well-being. Everything around us good designed makes our everyday life much better.

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

BF : A media company congress centre and a small flat in the Alps. Two different approaches because of different target and goals but equally very exciting.

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

BF : Private Interior was a very challenging project with a lot of aspects to consider and to take care. Every inch of it has been appropriately designed. And it is one of the projects that is satisfying me the most because the client was very attentive and very demanding, and seeing them insanely happy of the result, makes me feel very proud and gratified. This satisfaction has no price, but has a prize! Jokes aside, the A award confirms the excellent work done on this project and I couldn’t be more satisfied and more proud for myself and my team.

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

BF : I believe that design in the future must pay a great attention on materials and also in terms of economic changes.

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

BF : Technology has a big role in our daily life and in design field. Interdisciplinary approaches to science and technology have led to the development of new construction technologies.

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

BF : It always depends on the complexity of the projects. There isn’t an average time to be considered.

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

BF : The first step starts by listening to my clients and their expectations.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

BF : Do your best!

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

BF : In my opinion, art is the engine of every creative sector. Then follows fashion and after design.

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

BF : It’s very relevant, but I wish it were more.

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

BF : Everything is useful to explain and to support a project: pictures, movies, renders, models, presentations, Autocad’s drawings.

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

BF : Colours, materials and ambient are the design.

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

BF : If the journey is more important than the destination.

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

BF : I fill over excited, and I want to know everything is possible to know.

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

BF : I strongly believe in co-design. For me, it’s a dream that has not yet come true.

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

BF : Some of my friends, my husband, and my clients.

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

BF : Adolf Loos, Spoken into the Void.

DL: How did you develop your skills as a master designer?

BF : I was lucky enough to have many clients who trusted me, and I tried to learn from all the mistakes.

DL: Irrelative of time and space, who you would want to meet, talk and discuss with?

BF : Zaha Hadid or Le Corbusier.

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

BF : Fame is never the point. According to me, it is much more related to a sense of reward for your commitment and dedication to your work. An award is also a way to be inspired by the work of others and feel very honoured to be in excellent company.

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

BF : Everything changes so quickly that it is difficult. I like this change that makes us experience something new every time. I have been loving the colour Orange and then the Black, I love the big cities and the sea, I struggle to say no to good bread and focaccia, I still like Jil Sander.

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

BF : Once, I was asked to design a house for a manager, who appeared to be a person focused much more on the functionality of things than their style. When the project was completed, he had changed his mind as much that he wanted to refurbish the whole property.

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

BF : I try to be positive day by day. It’s a sort of mission for me, taking the best from all the things around me.

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

BF : No. It wasn’t. I wanted to be a ski champion.

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

BF : We always grow with a catastrophic idea of the future, but I believe that the human being will still be intelligent enough to guarantee a better future, also learning from his mistakes.

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

BF : Our design leapt forward thanks to hard work and continuous updating.