The passion of Paolo Pininfarina

With designs that embody a rare choreography of speed and sculpture, and as Chairman of his family’s company and grandson of the great Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina, Paolo Pininfarina is expanding the premier aesthetic legacy of vehicular charm that set the standard for global style in the 20th Century – via Ferrari and Maserati – by creating the world’s most in demand interiors and architecture projects.

“The Pininfarina design philosophy is human-centred; we put the man, with his needs, desires and dreams, as the epicentre. We have applied the same approach to our new home interiors projects, leveraging our DNA that’s matured over 86 years of history, to give life to solutions that are at the same time able to express classic elegance and a brand new style. Our goal as designers and architects, in the purest Italian tradition, is to create timeless beauty, a form of aesthetics able to last over years,” says Pininfarina.

Collaboration and innovation are the themes of the latest iterations of his expansion. Launched at this year’s Salone del Mobile in Milan, Home Design interiors by Pininfarina were created in partnership with other top innovators: Reflex for Living, Snaidero for kitchens and Casalgrande Padana for tiles.

The exhibition illuminated the collections’ sinuous curves, paired with decadent tactility – combined with a redefinition of innovative standards.

Pininfarina explains, “Pininfarina Home Design was born from the desire to combine our heritage in furniture design with our unique architectural style. Thanks to the teamwork with prestigious Italian partners – Snaidero, Reflex and Casalgrande Padana – we were able to present an innovative collection of furniture for different home spaces. It was a very natural process, as we all share the same values of high quality, innovation, custom-tailoring and innovation. These values allowed us to conceive innovative products characterised by a long-lasting elegance.”

Pininfarina’s commitment to partnership was also seen during his visit with Ed Snaidero to Dubai’s Snaidero Design Studio in Dubai Design District (d3). The opening of the space including the Snaidero Aria by Pininfarina, a wunderkind born of the partnership between the two companies. Inspired by nature, its main structure is wing-like, streamlined and chiselled – as though reaching out to the future.

“We recognise in the GCC region a natural attitude to exploring new paths, a desire to conceive new concepts able to represent a real breakthrough. It is particularly evident in the architecture, in buildings able to combine extraordinary shapes, innovative building technology, environment friendly solutions and sophisticated luxury – a perfect site for Pininfarina design and lifestyle,” says Pininfarina.

Aria features the first use of a piece of a nautical technology used in the kitchen sector. The patented Invisible Line innovation – a special quartz design studied right down to the tiniest details – creates a large worktop free of visible seams. The lighting overhanging the work area was created with polycarbonate, using an innovative rapid prototyping method based on 3D print technology.

Pininfarina’s architectural accomplishments have been just as visionary, including accolades such as the 2015 American Architecture Award for best new buildings, and the regional Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower and technical building at the Istanbul New Airport by AECOM; Pininfarina was also selected as the winner of an international design competition by IGA.

The company’s latest residential project, the reimagining of the Orlando skyline with Magic Place, follows in the footsteps of the extraordinarily successful luxury condo project in Miami. Already making waves in the architectural community, Magic Place is an ambitious 87-acre luxury mixed-use vacation village that will feature five signature towers with lush terraces, offering expansive site views with resort amenities, curated boutique shops and sidewalk cafes; it will host seasonal art shows and events.

Following the huge success met of the collaboration with Related Group on the 1100 Millecento Residences project in Miami, Pininfarina is also launching Beachwalk, a high-end real estate project that will rise in Hallandale Beach, south Florida. It will merge Pininfarina’s signature luxury experience of residential condo life with all the comfort and services of a hospitality structure.

These projects all follow in the footsteps of the 1986 launch of Pininfarina Extra. This stable of 500 museum-worthy designs includes small household objects and game-changing global architectural award-winning projects.

In addition to the first Pininfarina residence, an exclusive palazzo in Turin, Lagrange 12 – the company has created YachtHouse, one of two luxury towers in Brazil; a skyscraper in Sao Paolo; Ferro, a top-tier condo in Singapore; and hospitality venues such as Terrazza Martini by Pininfarina, developed on the cover of one of the branches of the Italy Pavilion, south-east Cardo. The company even designed The Private Chapel in Riardo for the Perrella family – Pininfarina’s first experience in the field of religious architecture.

When asked about his advice for future designers, Pininfarina once again draws on the heritage that has maintained the strength and innovative legacy of his brand. “I would tell them to travel, to meet other cultures, to touch different expressions of beauty, to develop their own sensibility that will then give expression to their unique style. All of this while remembering that design is the result of teamwork,” he muses.