Эксклюзивное интервью Вильяма Савайа и Paolo Moroni - мэтров современной дизайнерсой индустрии - журналу SALON-INTERIOR

Passing the gallery

Interview prepared: Natalya Sedyakina

Magazine: (53)

These are two very nice people. With a very specific sense of humor - it is not difficult to be sure. Communication with them immediately causes "addiction", fascinates. No delusions of grandeur, no special image effects. Their success is taken for grantedSALON: How long did your collaboration begin? - What do you mean: from the moment we got married, or from the moment we started work?S: (?!) ... Is this somehow related? (Seeing my confusion, Sawaya and Moroni laugh.)William Sawaya: I clarify: this is a wedding of interests. Nothing sexy.S: Well, in that case, from the moment you work.V. Savaya: We have been working together for 25 years, since 1976. First, Paolo sold furniture, and I acted as an architect. Later, when we started doing some projects together, we realized that our interests coincide. In 1984, the production of our own furniture began. Before we worked only as an architectural workshop SAWAYA & MORONI.Paolo Moroni: And now we have two areas of work: turnkey projects and, of course, the production of interior items. Oddly enough, the architectural workshop still takes a lot of time.S: I always wondered how people work in tandem. After all, this is a special principle of work. For example, I never even imagined that I would work with someone. I'm alone and it's easier for me. How do you work?P. Moroni: It is not as hard as you think. Because problems arise only when people are very similar to each other, when they have the same interests and tastes. And when two identical people go to the same goal, this is where the differences begin. William and I have completely different interests and views on life. Therefore, we can say that we complement each other very well.V. Savaya: Usually, every day we have a fight, as often we have a completely opposite vision of the same things. It happens to argue almost to death.P. Moroni: The fact is that our work is structured in such a way that if I do not like something in terms of design, then I say that it is ugly, not good, the line is not the same, etc. William, in turn, protects what is done and tells the advantages of this object. Thus, we almost always avoid mistakes, because with different eyes we look at the same thing. I think in the case when two people like something equally strongly, mistakes cannot be avoided. Because there is no critical opinion.S: How can you still avoid the final "murder" during disputes?V. Savaya: Very simple. Humbly, we "diverge." We have different roles in the company, because Paolo is mainly engaged in commerce and PR, while I lead projects and do creative work. Although we are certainly discussing some things together and eventually arrive at a common decision.S: If you imagine, for example, such a situation that I come to you and say: "I want to make myself an apartment from SAWAYA & MORONI in the house opposite, "how will events develop in the future?V. Savaya: It all starts a little differently, not like everyone else. First, the client who comes to us must be a familiar person. We are unlikely to work with a person whom we do not know, since we very carefully select our clients. If a person came to us through an acquaintance, we first try to make friends with him, get to know him, understand his inner state, as far as this is possible, of course. When a customer comes to us, he already knows who we are. He passes with us all the preparatory part, formal, so to speak, that is, he shows how large his apartment is, when he needs to finish everything, how much money he wants to spend - this helps us understand his life style. In order to make the project "under it". Do not just "pull" a beautiful cap on him, which will not look on him, but make a house that will be his home. And since we do very few projects in a year, we select few customers. We are trying to get close to a person in order to understand what he wants from his house, because every person in the soul knows this for sure. The power of a true architect is to “pull out” this information. So out of 10 project proposals, we agree to just two or three.S: That is, in a sense, you are psychologists?V. Savaya: Yes of course. But, for example, I am not able to accomplish this task alone. But Paolo is very good at talking to a heart-to-heart person. Therefore, as a rule, we always meet with the future client together.P. Moroni: In general, an architect turns into a psychologist. Because while you work, you communicate with very different people, and everyone wants something individual, unique, like himself.S: How do you select designers for collaboration? Why, for example, did you like Zaha Hadid?P. Moroni: According to the principle of friendship. Zaha and I have been friends for so many years. We have known each other for 12 years, from the time when she had not yet had any contracts and she was not famous. Our task has always been to meet young architects, because one of them will be either Michael Grace, Jean Nouvel, or Zaha Hadid. We have a lot of young friends with whom we have a good relationship. Therefore, coming somewhere, we try to see the work of young architects.S: And friendship does not interfere with your work? For example, this collection of Zaha Hadid seems interesting to you, but the following is not. And then what? Your relationship will not collapse after this?V. Savaya: Well, here we are not talking about friendship. If Zach does terrible things, then we say they are terrible. If it makes beautiful, we say that they are beautiful. This has already happened. I do not want to give names in this interview, but we had precedents when world-famous architects, much more famous than Zaha Hadid, working with us, created some things that, in our opinion, were ugly - we did not take them to work. Because SAWAYA & MORONI - a collection of projects, not a collection of names. And then, it is absolutely not necessary that a great architect can make an excellent applied project. Not because the architect is not capable of this, but because these are completely two different directions. You can be a great architect, but never make a chair.S: How do you manage to maintain a good relationship with a designer when you say that his brainchild is awful? After all, this is a creative environment. Where everyone has certain ambitions.V. Savaya: Designers, by the way, take it for granted. Because we are able to evaluate the work primarily from a technical point of view. They come to us for advice.S: I don’t like the work of Zaha Hadid, for example, but for some reason it’s impossible to go past the things she has done.P. Moroni: Still would! Since 1984, a whole revolution has occurred in the design