Article: Antoni Pallejà Office Interview
Antoni Pallejà Office Interview
The A.P.O. studio moves stealthily between the different design disciplines to capture the best of each one of them and reflect and express it into all its projects masterfully.
The A.P.O. (Antoni Pallejà Office) design studio, founded by Toni Pallejà, moves easily between different creative disciplines, which
allows it to harness the knowledge acquired in each project, transferring it and feeding it back into future challenges. Its most recent project was the RS Barcelona stand for the Salone del Mobile in Milan.
You’ve collaborated extensively with RS Barcelona. How did the relationship come about?
Toni Pallejà: We’ve been collaborating with RS Barcelona for many years and we feel very close to their philosophy. We started out by designing products and over time we’ve also worked on the creation of their spaces. It’s been a process in which we’ve reflected together on the brand and how it’s evolved. Right from the get-go, we could see that this was not your typical brand, that its value proposition was innovative and transgressive. We’ve always seen their products as iconic pieces that create a unique imaginative world that’s all about the power of play and its meaning; about awakening emotions in people, captivating them, and not leaving anyone indifferent. They’ve managed to raise their value through design and art, and we feel totally aligned and comfortable with these concepts and in this field.
Can you tell us about the experience of designing the RSBarcelona stand for the Salone del Mobile in Milan?
Toni Pallejà: For the previous two editions of the Salone del Mobile, we focused on producing a stand that reflected key values of the brand, such as its origin – emphasizing the importance of metal –, and on creating a sleek, sophisticated setting in which the products could express their quality and elegance. The products were the undisputed protagonists. The premise for this year’s edition has been to highlight the concept of play within the space. Play is inherent to the brand and we wanted to strengthen this aspect by creating an environment that would induce visitors into a dreamlike state, rediscovering the sensations and emotions of happiness we experienced as kids.
And how have you brought this sensation to life?
Toni Pallejà: Our solution has been to present the stand as a large bounce house, which takes us straight back to the world of our childhood. A magical space, a blank canvas where you can unleash your imagination with absolute freedom. On entering, you suddenly find yourself in a really special universe of play: a world which fuses the concepts of play and art in a super authentic way, with the unmistakable seal of RS Barcelona. It’s the Art of Play.
The end result – the space, the product – is what we see, but what lies behind it?
Toni Pallejà: Without a doubt, the A.P.O. approach is to add value to all the products and projects we get involved with. Achieving this entails many hours and a work methodology, but also a large dose of passion. That’s the engine that makes the process itself part of the result. It’s never a straight, monotonous path, but rather it feeds back into itself and is different in every project. Another key factor is the alignment of all the stakeholders in the process; that is, having a good rapport with the client, fully understanding their particularities, needs and goals, not to mention their manufacturing processes. But at the same time, it’s really important to us to be able to challenge pre-established ideas, to smash stereotypes, in order to come up with surprising and brilliant results.
Who do you look up to? Who are the icons that form part of your world?
Toni Pallejà: There’s a super long, incredibly diverse list of creators we admire, both historical and contemporary. Depending on the moment, a particular figure might be more influential; that’s what’s happened over the last year with Donald Judd. His work has been on my mind ever since I visited his home studio on Spring Street in New York. Being in that space had a huge impact on me, both in terms of his concept of the home and the construction of its furniture and other pieces.
You’ve got your own signature style, no question. What are the A.P.O. codes?
Toni Pallejà: There are certain aspects that I try to bring to fruition in all of our projects. There’s always an idea, a concept that we want to convey—sometimes more obvious, sometimes more subtle—that permeates the final result, giving it greater solidity and coherence. You might say that a particularly noteworthy characteristic, which is strongly related to my background in industrial design, is detail. Oftentimes, I tend to build projects by focusing on a small detail that gradually imposes itself, escalating, growing, and eventually characterizing the entire project. The small detail is maximized to create a meaningful whole. An example of this is RS Barcelona’s You and Me ping pong table. A barely noticeable detail, a secret drawer, becomes the distinctive element of the design and piece. Last but not least, we’re obsessed by materials. We find it thrilling to explore their possibilities and work out how to combine them in such a way that they acquire new meanings. Creating contrasts and tensions between them in order to establish a dialogue is a constant feature in the work of A.P.O.
