Martina Guandalini
Martina Guandalini is an Italian architect, interior designer, and product designer based in New York. Her practice spans architecture, interiors, and collectible design, united by an interest in creating spaces and objects that evoke emotion through materiality, form, and atmosphere. Working across disciplines, she develops designs that challenge convention while establishing a distinct visual language rooted in experimentation and refinement.
Guandalini gained international recognition in 2020 when she was named NYCxDESIGN Honoree for Best Emerging Designer following the debut of her Soulmate furniture collection, which was presented by Dezeen, Sight Unseen, and at the Salone del Mobile in Milan. Since then, she has continued to expand her body of collectible furniture while collaborating with leading brands and galleries, establishing a practice that seamlessly bridges architecture, interiors, and contemporary design.
Interview
I was born in Carpi, Italy.
Travelling with my family. I vividly remember visiting Salvador Dalí’s house museum in Figueres. Growing up in Italy in the 90s, I was also surrounded by remarkable design pieces, including my mother’s favourite, a Gio Ponti Venini chandelier.
Yes. I studied architecture and started creating sculptural and design pieces right away.
I’d say it happened very naturally. While studying architecture at the Politecnico di Milano, I developed a love for objects. If we think about it, certain buildings can be conceived as sculptures. What intrigues me is the communicative power of shapes.
My process is very instinctive. I call it “Urgency”, and it works through associations. I see forms, materials, and colours as an alphabet, creating stories through them that evoke emotions.
Photo by Chelsie Starley
My practice alternates between interior design and collectible design, so no two days are the same. Alongside managing projects, I always leave time for research, sketching, walking through the city or galleries, and listening to music. I’m fortunate to live in New York, which inspires me every day. It’s important to leave room for spontaneity and creation. My day also always starts and ends with meditation.
I always like to push boundaries, such as when I first combined resin and scagliola. I also enjoy taking a familiar material, detail, or visual language and placing it in a new context, as with my Bondage Pillow collection, where a raw punk aesthetic contrasts with the softness of the cushions.
Stay true to yourself. Find your own vision by experimenting and putting as many ideas into the world as possible. There is no right or wrong, only the joy of seeing your vision come to life. It’s also important to learn the craft and stay close to the makers.
I like to describe my language as Minimal Bold. It could also be defined as radical.
Carlo Collino, Nanda Vigo, Shiro Kuramata, Ettore Sottsass, and Eileen Gray.
Supaform, Formafantasma, Laurids Gallée, and Valentina Cameranesi.
My personal research is central to my daily inspiration and spans film, art, fashion, and music. Growing up as a dancer and musician exposed me to different subcultures that shaped my aesthetic and unconventional approach to design. Among my references are Pina Bausch, Elsa Schiaparelli, Isamu Noguchi, Claude Montana, and contemporary figures such as Juno Calypso, Anna Lee Cohen, Geneva Jacuzzi, and Marco Rambaldi.
Evocative.
As a human being, I believe we are constantly growing, and as a consequence, so is my creative expression.
Photo by Rob Barriales
“I see forms, materials, and colours as an alphabet, creating stories through them that evoke emotions.”
The Questions
(The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust.
Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde,
Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)
Slow morning, and every day discover something new that feeds my creativity.
Don’t express myself.
The tendency to look for approval. I have been working on it. It’s liberating to live with detachment and pure freedom.
Not being able to sympathize.
My mom, Patrizia, and my dad, Giuliano. My husband Rob too.
Clothing. They are a statement of freedom. Since little, I never wanted to look like anyone else.
Protect my peace at any cost.
Confidence.
Emotional intelligence.
Be unapologetic.
Photo by Tamara Baum
Wow.
Maybe drawing better.
Nothing.
Be kind to myself.
A cat.
New York, where I live. I decided when I was little and then made it happen.
My Cats (more than possessions, they are family).
Burnout from a job you don’t like.
Designer and performer.
Empathy.
Time to listen.
Pirandello.
Ellen Ripley (Alien).
Saffo.
I have to say my parents again, and my sister Giulia too.
Mia and Aida.
Violence and close-minded people.
I don’t believe in regrets.
Sleeping in my bed.
Live and let live.
“Never work around a constraint, but transform it into a design opportunity.”
Photo by Rob Barriales
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