Paolo Piva

Paolo Piva (1950-2017) occupies a singular and fascinating position in the history of Italian architecture and design. He divided his heart between two cities: Venice, where he trained while studying under Carlo Scarpa, and Vienna, where he taught for many years at the Akademie für angewandten Kunst. Deeply imbued with humanist culture, the passion for Austrian architecture accompanied him throughout his life, starting with his degree thesis which was supervised by the great critic Manfredo Tafuri, and also guided him in the curation of various exhibitions throughout Italy like the one on the "Vienna Rossa" sponsored by the Municipality of Rome in 1980. Piva, however, has not remained confined to the academic field alone: apart from the 1980s, he has collaborated extensively with B&B Italia in the creation of highly commercially successful furnishings, often characterized by an ingenious use of the movement of the various parts. Other important partnerships were those with the Italian Poliform, the Austrians Wittmann and the Swiss De Sede. Also prolific as an architect, he has signed the Embassy of Kuwait in Qatar and many projects in the retail sector, including the Inverigo showroom of Salvioni Design Solutions.