Roberto Palomba’s relationship with Kartell began on an escalator in Moscow, where a chance encounter with Claudio Luti was the starting point for their lasting creative relationship. That partnership is underpinned by quality, material research and evolution, and each product shaped by the philosophy of design for life. More Space met Roberto at the launch of Casa Kartell at Space Sydney.
Architect Roberto Palomba makes you feel at home
MS: Thanks for joining us Roberto, it’s great to meet you. Can you tell us how your relationship with Kartell began? I have a feeling there's a good story there.
RP: I will never forget meeting Claudio Luti, the head of Kartell. I was in Moscow on an escalator, and I saw Mr Luti. I never pushed myself forward before, never, but I love Kartell and I was dreaming of working with them. So, I introduced myself and said I would like to design for him. He looked at me, and said, "No thanks, we already work with a team of designers and Kartell has a very strong connection with them, I'm sorry.” After a couple of months, he called me and said he knew I was very good at designing bathrooms and he was thinking of expanding their collection, and so it started. We designed a collection with Kartell and Laufen bathrooms. Then we began to meet regularly and I had a chance to speak with him. He has such a such a great vision and mind. I learnt a lot. Claudio Luti has really been a guiding light for me. So, it all started with a no, and became a big yes! (laughter).
You trained as an architect and run design and architecture studio PS+A with Ludovica Serafini, does that experience shape your approach to designing furniture?
I think sometimes journalists are shocked because I can manage a square shape as much as a soft shape. I think always about the environment. I don't think about a piece floating in the fog. I have respect for the life of the end users. In the end, a space is made for the people who are going to live there. So, I always try to make pieces that can be part of the life of people. One step, not back, not ahead, but on the side.
Let’s talk about Casa Kartell and the philosophy and direction inside the world of Kartell.
Casa Kartell has been a natural evolution of their philosophy. Over the years, Kartell was developing a DNA of values that now allows the brand to give their own interpretation for everything. They opened the idea of a complete environment. A system of objects that are connected together. Now, with the same value, visual and attitude, they can do a living room, a dining room, perhaps in the future a bedroom and so on. They could even design the interior of a plane, why not? Kartell has a clear DNA that has evolved so that they can really do anything.
'Casa Kartell has been a natural evolution of their philosophy. Over the years, Kartell was developing a DNA of values that now allows the brand to give their own interpretation for everything.'
Roberto Palomba, PS+A
Architect Roberto Palomba in Sydney for the launch of Casa Kartell at Space. Portrait by Pablo Veiga.
'Since I can remember, in my house there was always a Componibili from Kartell. So, I always thought Kartell was a brand for the life of people and this is very important, because it's the mission of what we're doing today.'
Roberto Palomba, PS+A
How important for you are the cultural roots of Kartell?
Since I can remember, in my house there was always a Componibili from Kartell. So, I always thought Kartell was a brand for the life of people and this is very important, because it's the mission of what we're doing today. Sometimes designers, including me, design things that seem to be dedicated to a museum or a magazine, not to be scratched or made dirty, or to be integrated with other things within the house. We have to accept that we are part of the life of people. Kartell is in the life and homes of people for so many years, so they have become part of, not only the designed environment, but the the story of our lives. This is the great thing about Kartell, they say, okay, we believe in democracy, we believe in freedom, we give you our tools, now enjoy.
When we think about the history of Kartell, we think about the entrepreneurial founders Giulio Castelli and Anna Ferrieri Castelli.
When I was very young, my first job was as an assistant to the famous designer Luigi Massoni who designed the round bed for Poltrona Frau. One day he took me with him to an official dinner. I was sitting close to Guilio Castelli. I was so embarrassed because I was 19 and at the table was Enzo Mari and all the giants were there talking about design. I tried to pour a glass of water for Giulio Castelli, and I broke the glass into his soup. Imagine! When I am in a meeting with Lorenza Luti now and she talks about her grandparents, I say imagine, I once tried to kill your grandpa! (laughter)
The Albert table by Ludovica Serafini + Roberto Palomba for Kartell. Photo c/o Kartell.
The HiRay collection, here and following, by Ludovica Serafini + Roberto Palomba for Kartell. Photo c/o Kartell.
Kartell by Laufen by Ludovica Serafini + Roberto Palomba. Photo c/o Kartell.
Together Giulio Castelli and Anna Ferrieri Castelli nurtured designers around them and in the process reshaped the design industry. Launching pieces like the iconic work of Joe Colombo whose 1967 KD28 lamp has now been re-released by Kartell. How does that history shape your work with Kartell today?
When I design for Kartell in my studio, we really share this idea, this mission, of making people happy. I also know that when I work for Kartell, I can design something of quality for a good price. They are not interested in simply making nice furniture, the collections have complexity. The designs of Philippe Starck, Piero Lissoni, Patricia Urquiola, everyone is completely different. When you put us all together, there is no competition. It is a family. Working as a team in a cohesive way ultimately brings the best results.
You mentioned Lorenza Luti who is the second generation of the Castelli family and now continues Kartell’s legacy.
Lorenza Luti is super clever and the creative side of the marketing and retail department. She is sensitive, powerful and independent. It's difficult to have a second generation who is such a great interpreter, like Claudio her father, who is a genius. To be able to to combine poetry with the brand is fantastic.
What do you mean by combining poetry with interpretation?
With the Louis Ghost chair, Philippe Starck took an icon of the French monarchy and he made it in transparent plastic, a ghost, so it's absolutely revolutionary. Not many people would take that risk. Claudio Luti has created an aesthetic for Kartell that is so strong. It’s reinterpreting history in a poetic way and that is culture.
'When I design for Kartell in my studio, we really share this idea, this mission, of making people happy. I also know that when I work for Kartell, I can design something of quality for a good price. They are not interested in simply making nice furniture, the collections have complexity.'
Roberto Palomba, PS+A
With your collections HiRay, Albert and Belvedere, what challenges were you addressing?
One of the things that they all have in common, is they wanted to show Kartell as not just a plastic furniture brand. I went to Kartell with the High Ray collection in wire at the same time Philippe Starck was developing the Wood Wood collection, so it was an important time. Designing HiRay, we kept the idea of transparency, shadow and lightness which was very complicated. We made the chair with the minimum quantity of material while keeping it strong. If you look at the wire frame, there are different thicknesses. We reduced the wire where we could, which reduced the weight, the consumption of raw material, as well as the number of weldings which keeps the price favourable. It was one of the most complicated jobs I've ever done.
WIth the Albert table, we wanted to make a big table but we also wanted to make something totally sustainable. The frame is aluminium so it's 100% recyclable, and the top is ceramic so you can grind it down and produce other types of ceramics. While the colours are totally bespoke. For the Belvedere chair, I was working on another project with straw and I thought it was beautiful. So we designed a plastic frame with a finish that looks lacquered, connected by a seat and back made with layers of raw straw. For me, good design is 50 per cent emotion and 50 per cent performance. When you sit on the chair you don't see the chair, you feel the chair.
Going back to the Casa Kartell ecosystem, from a sustainability perspective how is that taking shape?
Kartell is focused on the environment. The big rules are durability, recyclability and disassembly. Durability is quality. When you do a good product in terms of the design and the strength, you don't throw it away. Disassembly is very important. Like the Albert table, you can disassemble the ceramic top from the aluminium base. The Belvedere straw is biodegradable and the plastic is recyclable. The fabrics we use for the outdoor collections are made from recycled ocean plastics. That sustainability trilogy is very important for Kartell and also for me.
'Kartell is basically a big laboratory, a farm of ideas where a group of designers have a very open discussion... We share the life. I don’t receive a brief and then respond to it. That’s not the Italian way.'
Roberto Palomba, PS+A
What happens behind the scenes when you're developing a new idea for a chair for example, how do you present that to Kartell?
Kartell is basically a big laboratory, a farm of ideas where a group of designers have a very open discussion. Every couple of months I say to Claudo, look, I want to show you something. If design is a meal, the moment I call him it’s like you give him the sweets. it's great because he is always fun when I go in. I have a team of great designers and we have a 3D printer so we can print a whole chair 1:1. He knows that when one of us arrives it's always a show. This is the opportunity not to say yes or no. It's the opportunity to discuss. I often stay for lunch and we talk about politics, about life, about the markets, about products, about ideas. We share the life. I don’t receive a brief and then respond to it. That’s not the Italian way. It’s about sharing the same target to make something good. And if they like it, it will have a name in the next Salone.
We are on the cusp of this year's Milan Design Week, how does it feel presenting a new design at Salone del Mobile?
I like to surprise, I don't like to shock. I try to make goods for the people and I'm very focused on trying to find the right price. I've been doing this for 30 years and I have had a lot of really good responses from the market. I’m spoilt.
Thank you Roberto, great to meet you and thank you for the interview.
Casa Kartell launched at Space in 2026. Kartell is available exclusively from Space Furniture – Australia and Space Furniture – Singapore and Malaysia.