Front Lines

A Tel Aviv home offers multi-layered modernism with a Milanese twist

Is there a place for modernism in our postmodern, post-everything age? Piero Lissoni thinks so. The Italian architect of purified forms, from sharp little coffee makers to lofty, linear edifices, has made a career of creating rigorously clean compositions with a foundation in the stark and immaculate works of the 20th century. ‘In 2018, it’s still possible to create architecture that is contemporary and simple, at least aesthetically simple, and to reclaim a little bit of that elegant modernist spirit,’ he announces, seated at a drawing table in his bright white Milan studio, surrounded by his three napping golden retrievers, as his dark-clad team works away at large screen computers behind him. Lissoni, dressed Milanese-style, in a neat navy blazer with matching silk pocket square, speaks softly, but his black apostrophe eyebrows and hazel eyes dance when he puts forth an opinion.