interior design - Cinquerosso Arte

Andrea Rocchi – My work is passion, emotion, research

Posted on 15 January 2024 | by francesca | Leave a Comment

Andrea Rocchi, owner of the eponymous Interior Design studio and head of the HoReCa sector for the AIPI (Italian Association of Professional Interior Designers), is the ideal interlocutor to discuss the relationship between architecture and art in contemporary times.

Can you tell us about your work?

I have an interior architecture studio specialized in the HoReCa sector, focusing on projects for hotels and food establishments. Currently, I have about ten collaborators, and we predominantly handle projects for large corporations, public companies, and hotels, ranging from four-star category and above. Additionally, I serve as the national representative for HoReCa within the AIPI, Italian Association of Professional Interior Designers.

What are the peculiarities of your studio?

There are at least two distinctive features of my studio. In addition to having architects and engineers handling technical aspects, we also have architects focusing on communication and graphics related to the food industry. I consider it essential to address this aspect to give substance to valuable projects. Instead of relying on external sources, I preferred to manage communication, now an integral part of our projects, in a complementary way to the interior design.

The second peculiarity, and in this, we are almost unique, is that I always have one or two individuals dedicated to research in design. We strive to understand what will happen in the future, which means both monitoring technological advancements (and thus anticipating potential innovations proposed by companies) and maintaining an observatory on new trends. This is where the role of art comes in because trends are linked to style and taste. When I talk about art, I don’t only refer to visual art but also to music, cinema, theater – all things we delve into and follow to enrich our proposals.

Allow me to make a comparison: we don’t produce ready-made fashion; we aim to showcase on the runway, trying to present always new solutions in line with the times. The difference is that fashion, analytically speaking, has a stylistic research cycle on an annual basis, whereas in our industry, we operate on cycles ranging from three to six years.

Another thing I highly value is the concept of continuous learning. To do this job, as with any profession with a strong individual component, two things are needed: a certain predisposition – let’s call it talent – and a continuous commitment to broaden one’s visions and improve techniques. When conducting an interview while looking for collaborators for my studio, I don’t just look at technical knowledge, etc., but I examine the person’s passion, ethics, and objectives because I am confident that, if present, everything will work at its best.

What motivates you in your work?

My motivation is being able to offer something to people who will live, work, or frequent the environments I design. The first thing we can provide is an emotion, the one derived from the initial impact. Research shows that we form a first impression in seven seconds—seven seconds that will be decisive in our judgment.

This initial impression will be followed by a proper judgment, related to the experience people find themselves living, summarized by the word ‘comfort’—how much the environment makes us feel good and evokes emotions.

Every time I speak in public, I emphasize the importance of emotion. We must experience emotions while working to be able to move our clients, who may be moved to tears when they see their new space, and to be able to stir emotions in the guests who will find themselves in that space.

What role does art play in interior design, from your perspective?

It is extremely important, for two reasons. Firstly, because in the hotels and venues we furnish, we use many images created by artists – from paintings to patterns on wallpaper. Secondly, art is indispensable for that process of continuous learning I mentioned earlier. I insist a lot with my team that they attend exhibitions and stay updated on what is happening in the art world because that’s how taste develops.

What makes Italians so different from others? Why are we so appreciated worldwide? It’s because we are born, raised, and live surrounded by art. Our cities are beautiful, designed by architects, full of statues and iconographies from different eras. Our eyes, our minds, get used to beautiful things: fashion, design, art, architecture, music, literature.

What do you think about Cinquerosso Arte?

I think it’s a beautiful initiative, something that was missing in our industry. No one had ever thought of bringing together artists to offer to architecture studios working in the field of hospitality and dining, providing both quality and prices compatible with installation budgets. That’s why, as soon as I learned about Cinquerosso Arte, I decided to involve it in upcoming projects.

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Every home is a concert – Interview with Nicola Grandolini, Vice-President AIPI

Posted on 22 May 2023 | by francesca | Leave a Comment

Cinquerosso Arte has joined AIPI, the Italian Association of Professional Interior Designers. Nicola Grandolini explains why it is so important to include works of art in interior design projects.

What is your organisation about?

AIPI has existed for over 50 years and is the only one in our country to represent this category. The figure of the interior designer is often confused with that of the interior decorator, but in reality it is a specific profession. We are concerned with the quality of people’s lives, starting with the spaces they live in or visit.

What is the role of the interior designer?

First of all, it must be made clear that it is a figure in its own right, with more specific skills than an architect. A bit like medicine: there is general medicine and then there are specialists. We are the interior specialists. We don’t have site management like architects, but we have the conceptual and creative direction of the interior concept. Our approach, therefore, is based on collaboration with installers, craftsmen, professionals and all the technicians involved in the project. It is necessarily a team effort. Think of a great architect such as Gaudí: he could never have achieved what he did without being able to count on very good collaborators such as cabinetmakers, blacksmiths, etc.

About collaborations, Cinquerosso Arte has just joined your organisation. What do you think about it?

We are happy to have the contribution of Cinquerosso Arte. We need partners, and being able to develop a project together with Cinquerosso Arte means being able to have artists in the team, who have the power to create emotions within other emotions. An interior designer can choose a work of art in tune with the project he has in mind, but the opposite can also happen: you can start from a work of art, from the emotions it expresses, and build the concept of a space around it.

So it is important to take art into account when imagining a piece of furniture?

Certainly. An interior designer has the task of organising environments around the wellbeing of the people who inhabit and frequent them, from the home to the school, from the conference room to the hospital. And it is something that is of great importance in everyone’s life. It is no coincidence that we also have psychotherapists among our staff. A non-harmonious environment is harmful. Covid has forced everyone to reflect on this issue, because so many people have found themselves locked in ‘disjointed’ dwellings, not organised to ensure well-being. Let us think of a house. If we want a person to be able to say ‘I feel really good in this environment’, we have to take into account their habits but also their emotions. That is why it is important to also include art and to do so in an organic way. The entry of Cinquerosso Arte into our association will allow us to have many works of art, many styles and many visions, and to develop collaborations for the benefit of our customers.

How do you carry out your work?

We are the tailors who have to make the right dress for the customer, a dress in which he feels comfortable. We always start with an in-depth dialogue with the customer to understand his needs, preferences and lifestyle. In short, we start with a dialogue with the customer, we collaborate with many professionals, supervising the work of all of them, to ensure people’s well-being.

A house, a hospital, a school, a hotel, an office… in short, any environment is a concert, and we interior designers are the conductors.

What are the tasks of your organisation?

As an association we are active not only in protecting this professional figure, but also in creating collaborations and synergies. For example, we are founding members of POLI.design of the Milan Polytechnic, we collaborate with schools and universities associated with us such as the Iuav in Venice. Our members work in Italy and around the world, and of course we have active collaborations internationally. We have just organised, for example, a convention in Florence with Ifi (International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers) and Ecia (European Council of Interior Architects).

We have recently created a technical-scientific committee for the development and qualification of the figure of the interior designer at European level. Another novelty in recent times is our registration with Mise, at the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, following which we have also taken an active role in training. Now we have to build in-depth and up-to-date courses, and we can also do this thanks to the universities that are starting to offer degree courses in interior design.

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