Boutique Design - March 2017 - 72

TALE OF TWO CITIES
Marcello Pozzi left Milan to plant his roots in the LA
design community. Now his namesake progressive
practice is breaking new ground everywhere from
architecture to interiors to products.
INTERVIEW BY CHRISTINA GREEN

LEAVING YOuR COmFORT zONE is key to creativity. Just ask Marcello
Pozzi. The Italian native moved to Los Angeles in 2001, less than a year after
receiving his architecture license in Milan, to explore the radically different
urban environment he'd heard about in university lectures. "During my time
at Politecnico di Milano, I studied the tradition of modernist architecture in
California," he recalls. "LA attracted me because of its paradoxical and avantgarde approach to architecture and design."
For five years, Pozzi worked at Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA), where he
says he "learned how to master the planning of different kinds of spaces and
to think about a building from the inside out" prior to making his next move.
"Since I wanted to have more control of the structure, shell and core of buildings, I decided to go to Gensler where I could practice and learn large-scale
architectural design."
After a decade of working at those mega firms, Pozzi gained the confidence to launch his own venture, a practice that spans architecture, interior
and product design. "As an Italian architect, I can't imagine a separation
between these disciplines and think specialization blocks creativity."
His eponymous LA-based firm-also known as MLLO Inc.-has since
received buzz for Pozzi's design of the Hotel Hugo in New York, The Garden
City Hotel in Long Island and the Mr. C Residences in Beverly Hills, as well as
his Stack 50 table for Restoration Hardware (RH), Pablita chair for Horm and
Tubini lights for Ricca. He is now working on five new boutique hotels in NY
in addition to office and residential projects in LA. In his free time, Pozzi also
paints and has exhibited works in several local galleries.

The greatest part is that I get to do what I really love every day, which is
drawing and creating, so it never feels like work.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR USE OF 3D MODELS.

I think about every project three-dimensionally because the most important
things that we create are spaces and volumes. With 3D modeling technology,
we conceptualize the project so that these spaces and volumes are the
drivers of the design process. I like being able to engage clients in volumetric
design and provide them with 3D print prototypes. I strive to use the technology in the most advanced way to serve the design process.
HOW DID YOUR DESIGN FOR STACK 50 GET PICKED UP BY RH?

I took a chance and proposed the design directly to the company's ceo. He was
immediately enthusiastic about the product, and thus far, it's been very successful.
It's worth noting that I sent the design to many companies beforehand and it was
rejected numerous times. So I guess it's really true that one should never give up.
WHAT'S YOUR PAINTING STYLE LIKE, AND WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST
ABOUT THAT MEDIUM?

I use a mixed-media technique that I call strati-collage. On a single canvas, I
apply multiple layers of drawings on sketch paper and paint, creating compositions that are neither completely abstract nor completely figurative. I find
that painting is an exploratory medium for ideas and visual thinking.

I love art history. I'm inspired by paintings and sculptures, as well as the city,
with all its fragments and contradictions.

The challenge is to organize a sustainable business and structure the workflow
in a manner that suits my creative process while maintaining direct control of
every design decision.

ANY ADVICE FOR OTHER DESIGNERS ON HOW TO STAY ORIGINAL?

boutiquedesign.com march 2017

Don't be afraid of failure and don't second-guess yourself. 

DAV I D L E N A

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE STRUGGLES-AND BENEFITS-OF RUNNING
YOUR OWN FIRM?

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Boutique Design - March 2017

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