By Decio G.R. Carugati.
“As architect, designer or manufacturer,” says Cappellini, “I’ve always liked what Mies van der Rohe once said: ‘All materials, whether natural or artificial, possess important qualities.’ So they have to be used as they ought to be used, seeking to optimize specific different values.”
Narrow at the end, with benches flanking its whole length, the long wooden table evokes the traditional monastic dinner table. So close to the old board, when a roughhewn wooden plank, cut out of the heart of the tree, either walnut or oak, would be fitted up for the occasion, and the supports, of either stone or rock, would raise it above the level of the chairs. In the open-plan layout on the first floor of the historic premises of Cassina in Meda, Giulio Cappellini sits among his collaborators. And that table is a place for sharing an intention that affects the ways and means in different areas of interest internationally, from architecture to design, product design and the contract sector. “As architect, designer or manufacturer,” says Cappellini, “I’ve always liked what Mies van der Rohe once said: ‘All materials, whether natural or artificial, possess important qualities.’ So they have to be used as they ought to be used, seeking to optimize specific different values. Hence stone, for which I have a special predilection, is exquisitely natural and offers variants even within the categories into which it is divided, from the most neutral forms to the richest and most varied. I like to use them on the wide variety of fronts of ideational action, from architecture to furniture to whatever else represents its rewarding embodiment.”
Since 1979 Giulio Cappellini has been active as designer entrepreneur of the brand of the same name, also devoting himself, as the firm’s art director, to the search for still undiscovered design talents and promoting their success by his innate qualities as a mentor.
In 2004, the year Cappellini Spa entered the group managed by the Charme investment fund headed by the Montezemolo family, which includes names such as Poltrona Frau and Cassina, he was personally responsible for the product and communications strategies.
Chosen by Time magazine as one of the ten global trendsetters in fashion and design, he works as art director for Flaminia, Alcantara and Ridea. He teaches in schools of architecture and design at prestigious international universities, and organizes exhibitions and events, including the Temporary Museum for New Design at Superstudio Più in Milan. He has also received a prestigious award from the French government for his commitment to the dissemination of good design worldwide.
“I do not like an aggressive landmark, disrespectful of the natural environment. Hence in designing the architecture of a large villa in Sardinia, close to Porto Cervo, perched on a hill, I favored its integration, so as to justify its aesthetic and structural values, excluding any gratuitousness in the project. For this reason the complex, laid out on five levels, is mostly faced with local stone. The interiors and exteriors are seamlessly united, with large windows interconnecting them both when open or closed.
The pool – actually a sort of lake extending into the interior – is fully lined with squares, measuring 90 x 90 centimeters, of very light-colored stone, the same as that used on the space outside and in the flooring of the salon on the first floor. The architecture seem to float, with rigorously minimalist figures, in the large clear reflection pool. The effect is astonishing, and all the more so at night, when the lights caress its development. Inside the house there are important areas, such as the master bathroom, where slabs of fine white Statuary marble mingle with white gold mosaic. In other zones green, black, blue and pink marbles, all very precious, are combined with mosaic or wooden paneling to distinguish and characterize the interior.
Where these single materials predominate as the main notes of a chromatic treatment, the other elements are very basic. As for the furnishings, given the importance of the spaces they are outsize pieces juxtaposed with design icons, great paintings and sculptures from the owner’s art collection.” During his studies at the Faculty of Architecture at the Milan Polytechnic, Giulio Cappellini had the opportunity to work as an assistant in Ponti’s office.
“An unforgettable experience. Ponti taught me the need for rigor and respect for materials. ‘Major projects,’ he used to say, ‘are made up of minor details, nothing can be left to chance.’ Three years ago, invited to Stockholm to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Italian Institute of Culture built by Ponti many years ago, I received an unfailing confirmation of his unique design ethic, with the architecture and furnishings, the color schemes of the interiors and the layout of the gardens down to each of the objects, even the smallest, everything being intended to enhance the harmony of the whole. I always ask my staff to devote the utmost attention and determination to the project, whatever it is, whether product design or architecture.
Nothing can be improvised. Sharing the approach is certainly the first step toward the correct definition of the conceptual purpose.”
This is how the long table with benches flanking its length acts as the medium of participation, of consideration of the modes of excellence.
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