Pierluigi Cerri (1939-2022)
Pierluigi Cerri (1939-2022) was an architect, designer, and graphic designer. An all-round creative who uses the “Less is more” philosophy in his works.
Pierluigi Cerri: The beginning
Pierluigi Cerri graduated from the Milan Polytechnic, where he taught with Umberto Eco, in 1974 he founded Gregotti Associati, with which he won many architectural competitions, before leaving it in 1998 to open Cerri&Associati with Alessandro Colombo. Member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale, in 1976 he directed the image of the Venice Biennale.
Later he was the supervisor for the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle‘s image in Bonn and Palazzo Grassi‘s image in Venice, the editor of magazines Casabella and Rassegna; collaborator with the magazines Lotus International, Abitare, Domus, l’Espresso, director of the graphic design series Pagina, Electa and the graphics’ curator of La Nave di Teseo.
He died on November 29, 2022.
Collaborations
Cerri has linked his name to fashion with the “corporate identity” of the Prada Sport line, characterized by a red line. For Pitti Immagine, he organized the exhibits The Eccentric Rule / A Hundred Years of Italian Men’s Elegance (1993) and Supermarket of Style. He designed the Caffè Marino, the Marino’s interiors at “La Scala” and the Palazzo Trussardi in the square La Scala in Milan. Since 1986 he has worked on the image of cruise ships (Costa Classica, Costa Romantica, Costa Victoria), designing all the interiors and furnishings.
He designed sofas, armchairs, and lamps. We must also remember the Universal Exposition in Seville, the Pirelli area at Bicocca, the Belém Cultural Center in Lisbon, and the redesign of the facade of the Milan Linate airport.
Recognitions
Pierluigi Cerri won the Compasso d’Oro in 1995 (graphic image by Unifor), in 2001 (Titano table for Poltrona Frau), and in 2004 (furniture and office tables Naos System for Unifor). In 1994 he received the Art Director Club Lifetime Achievement award, the Award for Good Industrial Design – Gold Product Design in 2003, from the Industrie Forum Design Hannover and the International Super Yacht Design Award, and in 2004 the Abitare il Tempo award at the Career. The list ends with the Dama d’Argento prize from the Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan and the National Ance-In/Arch Prize for the creation of the Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation in Milan in 2006.
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Polimoda 1986
