AN AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN LEGACY

Both Jesse and I have a love for timeless design in all forms, especially when it transcends design categories. The creation of a functional product that offers a sense of artistic beauty is the highest form of achievement in our minds. So with that in mind, we wanted to do a deep dive into a product category that we both have a passion for: vehicle design. To that end, we wanted to explore the work of one of our favourite automotive designers and coach builders, Pininferina.

Cars have always been a hobby of ours, less from the buying and driving perspective (though of course we enjoy this), and more from a design perspective. We see a beautifully designed car that has perfect proportions and classically refined details as a functional piece of art. This notion has informed our design process in a way, as a large part of our hunt for timeless design is fuelled by this notion- a piece of art that can be used that always graces its surroundings with an artistic presence never gets old. This is very similar to the way we see and approach home design.

THE MINDS BEHIND THE

Pininfarina, started in 1930, is responsible for Ferrari’s Testerosa, 458 Italia, and the iconic Enzo among over 100 other Ferrari automotive collaborations. However, this design talent was also commissioned in their later years for the design of furniture, architecture, household products, lifestyle goods, as well as yacht design. It is for this reason that we admire the work of Pininfarina, as their design vision transcends product categories and they do so successfully through practical application and execution.

Pininferina’s approach started with elegance and form, working from this point to develop innovative engineering and structure to bring the design vision to life. Our favorite example of this was the Ferrari Testarossa, a car that was made well into the reign of the dominance of this firm. The reason we gravitate to cars like the Testerosa is because we view this car as a piece of art, almost evoking an urge to have it grace a large lounge space in our homes, offices, or workshops. Its presence is almost sculptural, and anyone who follows us closely knows that we love approaching interior design features as a sculptural feature within each space. It is through this approach that Pininfarina has deeply influenced the car design world until this day, and we believe that the Ferrari Testarossa is a great micro-example of the results this approach produces.

We find great inspiration in the idea that Pininfarina’s approach to design is one that is rooted in a sense of stewardship, as Andrea Pininfarina (Battista Pininfarina’s son) explained, “To think, draw, design and build cars is not only an enthralling mental process. Nor is it simple a business choice. It is also and above all a great social responsibility. This approach is one that resonates with Jesse and I as we both see each home we are responsible for designing as a decoration that we are adding to the character of the neighbourhood for decades, and maybe even centuries to come. Similarly, Pininferina’s automative designs have held this standard in our eyes within the automotive industry, setting the bar for and inspiring future generations of designers. Its hard to look at their body of work and not think that their design greatness in the hundreds of cars they have successfully produced throughout the years hasn’t pushed the automotive industry forward in a formative way based on technological innovation alone. But outside of this, what we think is most inspiring is the pressure their greatness put on their competitors in each product category, challenging the innovative abilities of other design houses. This is why we believe this coachbuilders impact on the design world is much further reaching than meets the eye.

RUNNING SCULPTURE

After World War 2, Pinninfarina designed the 1948 Cisitalia, which is now on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This car was largely regarded at the best expression of simplicity and beauty of design in the automotive field, setting the standard for post-war era automotive design. As a result of this production, a number of manufacturers opened talks with Pinenferina in order to design new models for the assembly line. The Cisitalia was referred to publicly as “running sculpture”. This model largely catapulted the automotive designer to a place of global recognition.