"10 Questions to an Interior Designer" is a series of short talks inspired by the series "10 Questions to...". This time our attention is turned to interior architects. In today's episode, Piotr Pańczyk talks about his approach to design.
Piotr Pańczyk — creates private and non-commercial interior designs under the name CZY Architektura. He has won numerous prestigious awards in international architectural competitions and his work has been published many times in industry media. He is a member of The American Institute of Architects and the Association of Polish Architects. He gained professional experience in the largest and most recognizable architectural studios around the world. He currently lives and works in New York City.
1. For me, home is...
A private temple. A sanctuary dedicated to the residents. Everything here should be subordinated to their tastes and lifestyle.
2. The key to successful interior design is...
Consistency. Ideas vary and which one we think is better or worse is a very individual matter. However, once we have the idea it is important to stick to it until the end. Interiors with a clear theme impress me the most and it is important to not get distracted at the design stage, because extraneous ideas and unnecessary additions can sneak into the drawings and effectively blur the original vision.
3. I look for inspiration in...
In absolutely everything that surrounds me. The best inspirations find me on my own while walking around the city, traveling or relaxing in the park. In a way, I think that finding inspiration has less to do with the things we usually think of as their source and depends more on our state of mind. If we are not distracted by anything and remain open to the world around us, ideas find themselves.
4. In cooperation with an investor, the most important thing is...
The ability to have a conversation. I won't suprise anyone by saying that we need to be good listeners. As an architect, I have the soul of an artist and easily fall into a joyful creative trance, but apartments are designed for specific users and the needs of the investor are the most important here. Asking the right questions is also key. Thanks to this, information about the investor's needs can be extracted and understood. After all, we are talking to a person who may have no experience with the design process and almost certainly doesn't speak the jargon of architects. So we need to skillfully guide them trough certain topics.
5. My favorite design style is...
No one seems to want to admit to having a favorite style, but a lot of my work is characterized by pragmatic minimalism. I often explain the use of full, simple plans, straightforward forms and restrained detailing by utilitarian considerations. After all, in interiors for rent, ease of cleaning and durability are very important. However, I would be lying if I said that these aesthetics and design philosophies are not close to my heart. On the contrary. Often, I consider a project finished only when there are no more elements that I can remove without obliterating the original vision in it.
A little by chance and a little by choice, I also focus on designing small interiors, where I try to extract as much as I can from a limited space and make even the most modest studio apartments into full-fledged apartments, where nothing is missing. Can such a passion be called a style?
6. The most valuable object in my home is...
I have been living abroad for many years and one of the relatively few interior design items I have taken with me from Poland is a lovely ceramic vase from a famous workshop in Bolesławiec. It is not very valuable in the literal sense of the word, but because of the memories of my hometown associated with it, it holds a special place in my heart and is absolutely gorgeous!
7. The most common mistake made by people who decorate their apartment on their own is...
This will be a trivial answer, but a mistake that I see extremely often and which, by the way, is incredibly easy to make is the ill-considered and, as a result, haphazard mix of different wood textures and colors with each other. In one room, we can sometimes see lacquered window frames in shades of orange, a floor with a rustic grain of old oak, birch furniture and whitewashed ash interior doors. Of course, such a juxtaposition of different textures and shades can be intentional and done with taste, but is often simply the result of choosing the most readily available or cheapest products without taking care of a coherent whole. Wood is beautiful and warms an interior like nothing else, but it is also an extremely diverse material and it is worth considering how the various wooden elements of an interior work together.
8. My favorite material is...
Terazzo. For a long time, I had unpleasant associations with it (I'm sure it was the same for many people raised in communist-era apartments), but I came to love it as an architect. For its versatility and variety, the ability to achieve drastically different effects depending on the choice of aggregate, for its durability and timelessness.
9. A trend I wish would pass away already is....
I know it's an evasive answer, but I think I'd like to see an end to trends in general. Just as I feel strange walking around the city and passing people, every other one of whom is wearing identically tailored pants that are fashionable just this season, I feel strange looking at photos of interiors and being able to tell with alarming precision when they might have been designed. With virtually infinite means of expression at our disposal and designing for an individual, completely unique investor, it is worth to try to create something that is not subject to passing trends.
10. Someday, I would like to live in...
The ruins of a medieval castle on a tiny lonely island. Why not go bold?
Check out other conversations in the series 10 questions to an interior designer
