Furniture and Furnishing in Modern Office Buildings. Towards the Concept of Corporate Image

International examples prove that the concept of architecture, being as a total work of art, was adopted and used to support corporate image in office buildings. Since the Twenties, thanks to the designers of department stores, the idea of Gesamtkunstwerk became a sales tool and this new interpretation then transferred into office buildings. At the end of the Forties, in Italy, the typology of office-building was perfectly defined through the adoption of functional circulation schemes, conditioning systems, appropriate lighting, clear signposting and safety equipment. “Corporate modernism” was therefore completely established. In Italy, through a process of formal simplification and careful research of functional solutions, few office buildings epitomised the utilitarian and anti-monumental idea that characterised the Modern Movement. The taste for colour re-entered office design with a new perceptive function. Inlays in linoleum underlined the perfect geometries and the smooth surfaces of modernity. The new autarchic materials like Buxus (based on cellulose) were extensively used in furniture design to replace more expensive materials. The choice of materials was related to comfort, maintenance and durability. Important Italian architects of the period conceived the geometrical design of furniture as a reflection of the pure geometry of the architectural design. Right angles and smooth surfaces created abstract patterns of reflection on pure volumes which evoked cubic paintings. Giuseppe (Pogatschnig) Pagano (Parenzo 1896 - Mauthausen 1945) and Gino Levi Montalcini (Milano 1902 - Torino 1974) were among the Italian architect-designers involved in modern office design. They built and furnished Palazzo Salpa, alias Palazzo Gualino (Torino, 1928-1930) for Riccardo Gualino’s Salpa company. Since the time of its construction, Palazzo Salpa is recognised as a prime example of the new rationalist architecture in Italy. It was the result of a total work of art where every detail was conceived to be a part of a whole. Salpa leather - the autarchic material patented by Salpa - was used to line the Stigler elevators and to cover the pavement of the boardroom with the aim of strengthening the corporate image. Ahead of its time, furnishings and furniture were designed by assigning an advertising value to the material produced by the company. In Palazzo Gualino all materials, colours, lighting, textiles, furniture and furnishings were carefully studied to realise the concept of company image that anticipated Olivetti’s. For Palazzo Gualino, the architects designed 67 different pieces of furniture that were supposed to be the prototype for the new specialised production of office furniture in Fabbrica Italiana Pianoforti - F.I.P., bought by Gualino in 1927. Over the years much of the furniture disappeared and Palazzo Gualino was sold by the municipality in 2007. There is now a high risk of losing the original value of the building because it is soon to be reconverted into luxury apartments. On the one hand, the identity of office buildings is interrelated to the corporate image which may extend to interior design. On the other hand, the materials used in Modern Movement interiors were conceived to be renewed and replaced, not due to the wear of the material but in order to adapt to changing needs and fashions. The questions are: are the interior design changes compatible with the architectural conservation of office buildings? How can a unique interior design be preserved when a change of its functions occurs?