INTERIOR DESIGNERS
THE MAGIC OF VILLA RUHLAND ATTRACTS THE GREATEST NAMES IN DESIGN
The investors would like to revive the property in accordance with the surroundings, culture and tradition of the region, and to embellish it with unique and local custom-made design making use of the locally sourced materials such as stone and wood in order to keep the exceptional spirit of the mysterious villa from ever being forgotten.
GIO PAGANI
Demiurg “world apart”
An author of stories told by material means and a nomadic soul with a cosmopolitan approach.
Gio Pagani, an architect of many faces, established his design studio in Parma in 1995 with the aim to offer solutions in design and architecture characterised by extraordinary elegance, where boldness and eclecticism meet a continuous search for functionality. “Design is the value that cannot ignore functionality. It absolutely needs to serve a purpose.”
Travels and discoveries soon turned out to be the fundamental elements of the development of his creative spirit driven by a strong inclination for an exchange of knowledge and interaction, where a coincidence of various impulses generates a powerful stylistic load.
“I have no roots and I love travelling. What’s incredible for me is that in every place one can build something new”, explains Gio Pagani. “Dynamism is the impulse. Not just creative dynamism but also the one connected with my travels. Milan, London, Paris and New York are the places where I need to spend time in order to face the reality, new inspirations and future perspectives.”
Inspirations from around the world enclosed in architectural designs, which have found their means of expression and locations all around the world. The act of designing, regardless of whether it concerns buildings, hotels, apartments, residential interiors or commercial spaces, leads Gio Pagani to express his original creativity and wide experience.
Gio Pagani also designs unique buildings by creating paths that trap all our senses in an emotional whirlpool, where imagination and fantasy meet tactile and material experiences.
The GIOPAGANI collection is the result of all the impulses that have been directing his career to date. This is where the love of design and the study of material come together to shape the objects in which the far-sightedness of design and the contemporary fashion inspirations mix in with sophisticated personal taste that always aims at securing well-being and enriching everyday life.
“We need to surround ourselves with objects that can function as guidelines in our everyday lives. Some of them will help give sense to more important things”, strongly insists Gio Pagani.
ALESSANDRO LA SPADA
Alessandro La Spada is one of the most eclectic and boldest representatives of the Italian interior design industry reaching out to highly creative sectors, such as luxury interiors, lighting, leather goods, tailor-made motorcycles, objects of everyday use and graphic design. Curious of the world, ready to experiment and fascinated by a combination of art, design and ancient craft, he has wide experience in cooperating with renowned interior design brands with the IPE Group and their Visionnaire collection as the most prominent one.
Born in a Sicilian family in Reggio Calabria, Alessandro nurtured his talent for drawing since very early childhood. He stood out owing to the uniqueness and creativity of his manual work. Having graduated from art studies, he moved to Milan in order to continue his education in interior design. In Milan, he met such personalities as Giulio Cappellini and started a fruitful cooperation with the architectural design studio Sawaya&Moroni as part of an international team working on luxury residential and commercial space design. He learnt the nuts and bolts of furniture carpentry and metal cutting technics from specialists in Brianza and used the knowledge while preparing his first furniture collection exhibited in Salone del Mobile in 2000. The Milan fairs soon positioned him as one of the best Italian style creators in the world opening the door to a career brimming with success and recognition.
Characteristic features
Alessandro has always been fascinated by the emotional aspect of objects and enthusiastic examination of material viewed as introspective search. His designs are characterised by the style that connects dreamful suggestions, attention to detail, luxury and experimental practicality. He likes to call himself a self-made man with an interest in crafts rather than a designer, even though he taught furniture design at IDI’Ac Interior Design Institute and conducted workshops at Domus Academy.
Portfolio
La Spada has been cooperating with numerous prestigious interior furnishings brands, for which he designs intensive and passionate collections that reflect the clients’ tastes without having to resign from his creative self and the pride in his southern roots.
He has created multiple exhibition stand designs for e.g. FIAT’s showroom in London in 2007, stands for Visionnaire, Antolini, Smania, Longhi, Milldue and Clan Milano during several editions of Salone del Mobile and exhibitions in Milan’s Boscolo Hotel for La Murrina in 2015 and IFDM in 2016. Alessandro knows how to seduce and amaze with his works characterised by a sophisticated form of expression, where the packaging and the product conduct a synergistic dialogue in a crescendo of bold and alternative stylistic combinations.
“Space does not impose limits but inspires challenges”: this is the way in which he expresses his incessant design panache and the choice of organic and industrial materials that shape luxurious and sophisticated residential interiors taking us from the calm waters of Lake Garda through the conventional design of a high-class hotel in Milan to the cold spaces of St. Petersburg.
Awards
Archiproducts
DESIGN AWARDS
Double marble console sink | KOBOL | by Visionnaire | WINNER 2018
Wall Paper
DESIGN AWARDS
Wood and marble coffe table | TEA PARTY | by Visionnaire | Award Best Stripe of 2018
Elle Decoration Russia
DESIGN AWARDS
Wall covering | ADVENTURE IN THE SEA | by Visionnaire | Best Wall Covering of 2014
A short interview with Alessandro La Spada
What captivated you in this property when you travelled to Lake Garda to see it with your own eyes for the first time?
Alessandro La Spada: When I saw the Villa for the first time, I was captivated by the enchanting atmosphere of its turn-of-the-century look and the emblematic name “peace in the landscape”.
What are your main tasks here? Which aspect of the property are you responsible for?
Alessandro La Spada: I am honoured to have been entrusted with the task of designing the interiors of this marvellous building.
Why is it so important to learn about the history of the building, the place, the surroundings and the city before embarking on the design work?
Alessandro La Spada: Getting to know the history of a given place is a crucial element if we wish to continue its story. It is the necessary way to discover the nature of the building that we are to create a new story around.
What impressed you the most about Villa Ruhland?
Alessandro La Spada: Of all its wonderful elements, the one that drew my attention straight away was the gazebo with a fairy-tale neogothic touch, entwined with a Lady Banks rose bush, which emerges from the waters of Lake Garda together with its long history.
In your view, what is the most important thing in a cooperation with an investor?
Alessandro La Spada: The most important aspect of cooperating with an investor is the ability to build a strong relationship between the parties based on trust and the broadest exchange of information possible in order to achieve the best possible result.
What are the toughest challenges that you will need to face working on this project?
Alessandro La Spada: I believe that in order to deliver such an ambitious project as Villa Ruhland the greatest challenge will be to create the interiors in the way that would satisfy the client’s needs in terms of creativity while at the same time respecting the historical elements of this place.