Italian architect and interior designer Piero Lissoni has designed the interiors for hotels, restaurants and yachts, most notably, the new Sanlorenzo SX88 motor yacht. His projects span the world, including Miami, Milan, Tokyo, Amsterdam and Shanghai.
He was commissioned to design the hotel rooms, individual residences, front entrance, the lobby lounge, and amenities for the Swire Hotel and Residences in Shanghai, which opened in 2017.
And Mr. Lissoni, 61, embarked on his first project in New York City in 2015 with 45 Park Place, a luxury condominium building with developer Sharif El-Gamal.
We caught up with Mr. Lissoni from his office in Milan to discuss European influences in the U.S., the appeal of mixing styles and more.
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Mansion Global: Describe your dream property.
Piero Lissoni: To be a good architect you need to be a little [crazy]. On one hand, I’d like to live in a minimalistic house with very little furniture. But sometimes I like to live in a Baroque-style house with lots of grand furniture
The important thing is to live elegantly within a tasteful ambiance. I never want it to feel fake.
MG: Do you have a real estate property that got away?
PL: No, I like to be a user, not an owner. I never think, "I want to buy that home." That just doesn’t matter to me.
MG: What does luxury mean to you?
PL: In my mind, luxury is an overused word. It’s become vulgar. The real luxuries for me are culture and the ability to interact with others.
The best projects are where the investors and developers feel passionate. It’s not just about making a lot of money, it’s about feeling passionate about it.
It doesn’t matter if you have a black American Express. A home doesn’t have to be expensive to be luxurious, it has to be lovely—full of light and near culture.
But time is the most luxurious thing of all.
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MG: What area do you think is the next hub for luxury properties?
PL: Of course I’m interested in the United States, which is one of the most incredible countries in the world, and is multicultural. It’s interesting to work in the United States, but also in Europe and in Asia and in India. There’s so much culture to learn in all of these places.
But I follow my clients and their visions. Every time I choose the people to work with, not the projects.
With Sharif [at 45 Park Place], I was touched by his personality. It was his business ability, but also the ability to discuss light, space, and the feeling of a place.
MG: What’s the biggest surprise in the luxury real estate market now?
PL: I started working in the U.S. more than 15 years ago. And then, people weren’t interested in European tastes. Now I’m in very good company. There are European architects everywhere in Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York.
The houses and buildings are more elegant and sophisticated. In New York, there used to only be curtain wall glass towers, now you’re seeing buildings with European-style qualities, spacing and design solutions.
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MG: What’s your favorite part of your home?
PL: The bibliotech, because for me it’s a silent, private space. But I also love the communal spaces, too—the dining room the kitchen and the living room.
MG: What best describes the theme to your home and why?
PL: My home is very, very simple. It’s quite empty, full of books, and not a lot of furniture.
The books are in a special section that’s private. To me, they’re like underwear—they’re private, not to showcase.
I’m a little bit of a collector, too. I like to collect furniture from modernists like Frank Gehry and Fritz Hansen, but I also have antique carpets and old Japanese furniture. It’s a mix.
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MG:If you had a choice of living in a new development or a prime resale property, which would you choose and why?
If I were to choose a new building, it would be first for the qualities of architecture. If I choose an old one, it’s for the feeling of being inside history.