Wohngespräch: Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli [2050+]

Michael Obrist in conversation with Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli about 2050+.

Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli
Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli is the founder of 2050.plus and used to be a partner at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) between 2014 – 2020. Together with Anna Puigjaner and Marina Otero Verzier he is a tutor on ADS8: Domestic Institutions at the Royal College of Art. The studio looks at temporary, communal spaces for food preparation and consumption as a testing ground for alternative models of domestic institutions. ADS8 will use Manifesta, the nomadic European Contemporary Art Biennial, as a cultural and spatio‐temporal framework.

Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli joined OMA in 2007 and is based in Rotterdam. A partner since 2014, Ippolito’s work at OMA/AMO has a focus on preservation, scenography, and curation. Projects led by Ippolito include the renovation of Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe) in Berlin (ongoing); Panda, an exhibit for the 2016 Oslo Triennale; the transformation design of the 16th century Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice (2016); the design of Repossi’s flagship store on Place Vendôme in Paris (2016); Monditalia, a multi-disciplinary exhibition focused on Italy, at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale; scenography for the Greek theater of Syracuse in Sicily (2012); and the co-curation of Cronocaos, OMA’s exhibition on preservation at the 2010 Venice Architectural Biennale. Ippolito is currently curating Manifesta’s 12th edition (2018) taking place in Palermo and has led OMA’s urban studies on the Sicilian city. Through collaborations with different brands including Repossi, Galleries Lafayette, Knoll, and Prada his activity extends to research, product design, temporary installations, and publications. Since 2010, Ippolito is responsible for a range of AMO projects with Prada, including the stage design for the brand’s fashion shows and special events, and the art direction of videos. He contributes to exhibition design for Fondazione Prada, with projects such as When Attitudes Become Form: 1969/2013 and Serial Classics (2015). Ippolito holds a Master of Architecture from the Politecnico di Milano.