Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 50
Occupation: Architect/designer.
Instagram: @nikokoronis
Hometown: Thessaloniki.
Studio location: Milan.
Describe what you make: I design spaces and objects.
DESIGNER OF THE DAY
Designer of the Day: Niko Koronis
An alum of Milan’s Domus Academy and London’s Architectural Association who has shown sculptures at the Venice Biennale, Niko Koronis creates “small-scale architectural entities” marked by radically experimental materials and rigorous geometric forms that embody a sense of depth and dimensionality. A selection examining the captivating qualities of Belgian Black Marble, currently on view at Carpenters Workshop Gallery’s London outpost, demonstrates how the Greek-born, Milan-based architect deftly navigates the interplay of nature and artifice, rigidity and play, and positive and negative space.
BY RYAN WADDOUPS
August 08, 2023
CSQ (2020) by Niko Koronis. Photography by Benjamin Baccarani and Nicky Roding, courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery
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CSQ (2020) by Niko Koronis. Photography by Benjamin Baccarani and Nicky Roding, courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery
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The most important thing you’ve designed to date: It’s very hard to say simply because different things can be important for different reasons. Some things might appear to be important on a personal level, while others on an aesthetic or practical level. And others, due to the fact that they were a failure and far from what I had initially expected.
Describe the problem your work solves: My work doesn’t always solve a problem—far from it—and if it does, maybe it’s not really that important to be worth mentioning. But as a creative person, I always try to avoid causing any more problems.
Describe the project you are working on now: Our studio is currently involved in several projects on different scales: an interior for a fashion brand and two new limited-edition collections in resin and marble.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: A series of large-scale glass objects. I’m still familiarizing myself with this beautiful material, and as such it’s hard for me to know precisely when these pieces will be ready, but I’m very excited about them.
Suku 1 Black (2019) by Niko Koronis. Photography by Benjamin Baccarani and Nicky Roding, courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery
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Suku 1 Black (2019) by Niko Koronis. Photography by Benjamin Baccarani and Nicky Roding, courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery
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What you absolutely must have in your studio: Coffee and music.
What you do when you’re not working: It depends on the mood and the situation, but there’s always something to keep me busy at all times.
Sources of creative envy: I’m not sure “envy” is the right word, but I owe a lot to several creative figures: Adolf Loos and Alvar Aalto. The European modernists in general and several mid- and post-century Italians, such as the Castiglioni brothers, Carlo Scarpa, Gio Ponti, Andrea Branzi, Ettore Sottsass. Equally important are American minimalist/post-minimalist artists (Anne Truitt, Frank Stella, Donald Judd, Tony Smith, Sol LeWitt) as well as West Coast light artists from the ‘70s (Dan Flavin, Robert Irwin, Larry Bell, James Turrell).
The distraction you want to eliminate: Objects that don’t work well and telemarketing phone calls.
Image courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery
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Image courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery
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Concrete or marble? Marble.
High-rise or townhouse? High-rise.
Remember or forget? Remember.
Aliens or ghosts? Aliens.
Dark or light? Dark.