In memoriam: Pierluigi Cerri (1939 – 2022)

Pierluigi Cerri handed away on Tuesday 29 November at age 83. The Italian architect, designer, curator, editor, educational and three-time Compasso d’Oro laureate was a polymath and a visionary: his work spanned from design to vogue, from exhibition curation to structure, leaving an eternal mark on the modern inventive industries. Cerri created among the most iconic visuals of our occasions by deciphering concepts into practical objects and refined graphics.

Pierluigi Cerri: ‘I’m keen on varieties that survive historical past’

Architect and concrete planner Stefano Boeri paid his respects via an Instagram submit: ‘Pierluigi Cerri has left us. He had the uncommon present of magnificence, which in graphic design means translating ideas and concepts into clear, composed indicators; endowed with a grace that appears innate.’

Born in 1939, Cerri belonged to the era who has made and continues to make the historical past of structure and design. Amongst his pals was Renzo Piano, who, in an interview, described Cerri as ‘a shy boy, with a slight be aware of ennui, of boredom, in his eyes. As if the elemental feeling in the direction of life must be to look at it.’ Cerri commented on his years on the Politecnico as a time when he and his friends learnt and watched, absorbing life and its classes.

From the start of his profession as a founding member of Gregotti Associati in 1974, Cerri was fascinated by smaller tasks. He was after magnificence, perfection even, and this was a stressed quest that might not wait many years to come back to fruition. ‘I’m too anxious to have interaction in long-lasting “wars”. Ready 20 years to see the realisation of a mission would drive me to anxiousness,’ confessed the architect.  

The separation from Gregotti was pure, natural – ‘In spite of everything, already within the years after we labored collectively, it was as if one other studio had advanced: mine, aimed much less at large-scale structure. Whereas [Vittorio Gregotti] was designing the Bicocca, I used to be oriented in the direction of inside design, small-scale structure.’ Cerri targeted not solely on smaller architectural commissions but in addition on product and visible design. Whereas creating forward-looking furnishings for among the most distinguished design firms similar to UniFor, B&B Italia, Fontana Arte, Arflex, Molteni&C, and Poltrona Frau (which most just lately reissued his ‘Ouverture’ couch), Cerri gave form to elegant objects with a goal. 

Amongst his most famous graphic tasks are the visible identification of the Venice Biennale in 1976 and the creation of Prada America’s Cup company identification – the enduring and easy crimson line – but in addition the the company identities of Salone del Cellular, MART Museum of Up to date Artwork of Trento and Rovereto, Triennale di Milano, and lots of others.