WITH 90+ CATEGORIES AND 300+ JURORS, THE ARCHITIZER A+AWARDS IS THE WORLD’S DEFINITIVE ARCHITECTURAL AWARDS PROGRAM. IN THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE EXTENDED DEADLINE, JANUARY 30, 2015, WE ARE PUBLISHING Q&AS WITH 2014 A+AWARD WINNERS. TO SEE A FULL LIST OF CATEGORIES AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE A+AWARDS, VISIT AWARDS.ARCHITIZER.COM.
Minimal USA was the 2014 Popular Choice Award winner in the Products+Kitchen category with the Minimal – M3 collection. This custom-made kitchen hardware is built to last with stainless steel structures and aluminum doors and drawers.
Your name: Bartolomeo Bellati
Firm: Minimal USA
Location: New York, New York
Education: B.S. in Business and Engineering at University of Brighton, England and Turin Polytechnic, Italy
Minimal – M3
When did you decide that you wanted to be an architect?
As a kid, I loved watching my dad while he designed and created the model for our house in the Italian Alps. I then chose to study engineering and business, as it offered more possibilities. Thanks to the company I created, Minimal USA, I now get to work with famous architects from all over the world.
What was your first architecture/design job?
I designed the kitchen for my ex-boss.
Who is your design hero and/or what is your favorite building?
Tadao Ando. He embodies minimalism and can perfectly insert it in any context, even in the historic city of Venice with the renovation of the Punta della Dogana, my favorite interior space.
Minimal – M3
Tell us something that people might not know about your submission:
I decided on the very last day of the extended deadline to participate, called my photographer in the morning, and worked on the submission ’til 11:50 p.m. … 10 minutes before the deadline.
Which jurors do you find most compelling and why?
Olafur Eliasson, because his work is incredibly contemporary and involves multiple senses just like the work of an architect. Winka Dubbeldam, because she was one of the first in New York to do medium-scale buildings with innovative façades and I was lucky to work inside a couple of her creations. Paola Antonelli, because as a fellow Italian, I appreciate even more what she is doing to promote design and architecture with her role as curator of the MoMA.
Other than your computer (or phone), what is your most important tool?
My integrity. I always do the right thing no matter the cost. My business has grown dramatically over the last five years and it’s mostly all through word of mouth.
Outside of architecture, where do you look for inspiration?
I worked as a graphic designer and web designer in my early years, so I apply a lot of the concepts of good 2D design to 3D spaces, such as the use of white space. I also come from a family of photographers, so the rule of thirds comes in handy, as well, when creating proportions that don’t necessarily have to be symmetrical.
Minimal – M3
What is the most important quality in an architect?
Vision shaped around the client’s taste. Meaning: being able to go beyond the expectations of the clients and their capability to conceive the end result (they would not have hired you otherwise), but still making it appeal to their taste.
Who would be your dream client, and why?
I love working in the United States, as most clients hire us for our expertise in designing kitchens and custom interiors and they give us carte blanche. In Europe and especially Italy, the client is almost too involved and can often ruin the vision.
What do you find exciting about architecture and design right now?
I find design-oriented eco-innovations exciting — the integration of sustainable solutions where also design is taken into account. So, not just the use of “ugly” solar panels, but, for example, the integration of solar cells in roof tiles or windows.