Vittorio Bertazzoni0:31
The collaboration with architect Guido Canali dates back about 30 years. That was a very important period for the company because built-in products were growing strongly, so we asked the architect to interpret these new objects that were becoming very important within the company. It was an extremely fascinating experience because working for industry means refining the product, not settling, it means filing and deepening until the product seems perfect and then you put it into production. It also allowed us to work with the craftsmen at Smeg, who are extremely skilled people who know the technique perfectly and know everything about metals, so they taught me a lot. One of the most characteristic aspects of this line is the very visible use of steel, a noble material that at the time was not particularly used in household appliances; products were rather enameled. I remember when these objects were presented at the Cologne fair in Germany, the dean of the faculty of architecture requested a 60- or 90-cm oven from that Guido Canali line, and then he gave a lecture to students on architecture in the domestic sphere, wanting to demonstrate that it was possible to create architecture even in household products. While designing, one looks at that whole world of unknown faces that will be the interlocutors of the product. For example, a small piece of the products I designed is this knob, which has been used many times because it was successful. Today, the classic line designed by architect Canali represents one of the best-selling lines of the company worldwide and one of the best-selling in absolute terms in various markets. The distinctive elements of this line are certainly the knobs, the handle, elements that have positively influenced other product categories such as ovens and refrigerators. There is also a symbolic and semantic aspect: the prominent wing indicates very clearly the direction in which to turn, unlike cylindrical knobs which are harder to grip and require graphics to understand how to use them. In addition to the work done by architect Canali, Smeg has always collaborated with other architects and architecture studios: Mario Bellini, Renzo Piano, Marc Newson. From my point of view, the great added value of an architect's work on products like ours is to be beyond the fashions of the moment, to be timeless objects. Just think that there are products designed by these architects that are still being sold 25 years after the first piece came off the assembly line. I believe that the path traced by the modern movement in the 1930s is still the right one today: we must patiently research, refine the product, work so that it has the highest possible quality and does not age quickly, as unfortunately happens today with many architectural works that follow fashion and age with it. After many years of happy collaboration, architect Canali was an easy choice to give the mandate for the design of the new offices in San Girolamo in Guastalla. The guidelines for this project were also simple and few. The most important is that this building find its correct place in our environment, the Po Valley. Another very important element is the water that surrounds us, from the lakes of Mantua to the great Po River that crosses this region, and also the embankments that are very present in this region. This building is essentially a synthesis of our way of doing architecture. At the base are always the needs: the needs of those who live there must be satisfied in the best way, giving a feeling of great naturalness to those who live there. And then the elements of nature: this building is like a pretext for the greenery that overwhelms it, with bamboo and trees that grow inside the building itself, planted on purpose, and great respect for the surroundings. Here we are in the Po Valley, the countryside is still dominant, and so it was truly right to make a low building that absolutely does not disturb.
