CLUB MILANO, popular bi-monthly free press magazine of lifestyle, fashion and design with interviews and insights, distributed in over 200 selected locations, interviewed Gisella Borioli on architecture, design, fashion, training and, above all, the future, which cannot fail to be led by the beacon of knowledge.

On the website of @ATAt, the quarterly online of Superstudio Group, you wrote an editorial that has a clear and direct title: "The new responsibility of architects". How important will these figures and, in general, knowledge and competence be once this health crisis is over? 
The focus of the speech is precisely this: knowledge and competence. The world is made of closed and open places, where we live and meet, where we work and compare ourselves. Competent people such as doctors, scientists or professors are basic because they solve the problems that surround us. The task of designing spaces where these people - and not only them, of course - can find answers to problems is the prerogative of architects. They are experts who do not work alone, in their studies many other excellences from different fields compare themselves. They have an important part of our destiny in their hands, because they must "provide" us and those with specific expertise with the places to direct the world.

That’s why I think they’re among the first to take on a new responsibility. Can we extend the discussion to designers too? 
There is a lot of synergy and commonality between these two worlds, but I want to emphasize that designers can no longer avoid confronting themselves in a stable way with technology and innovation. In these days we have had an excellent example in this sense, I am referring to the use of 3D printing and snorkeling masks to create a medical tool. I put them close to architects: not even they have to work alone, they have to go beyond aesthetics and functionality to reach a more technological and, in a certain sense, philosophical dimension. 

Is this a speech that in some way can also be applied to the fashion world? 
Fashion is a varied and complex sector, which is able to anticipate revolutions and changes but also to look back and propose styles that have roots in the past. It was a nice sign to see groups like Armani, Prada and Marzotto, just to mention a few, to give concrete support in this emergency health situation, in some cases even trying to reconvert their productions. However, it is not my intention to diminish it: here too technology is becoming especially important from the point of view of materials. Fashion, however, remains a world that creates beauty, which expresses the creativity of some brilliant individuals. Let us leave it to you to make us dream. 

In all this talk, the training factor becomes fundamental…
The preparation of the competent people must start, in my view, from the first day of school, if not from kindergarten. This is where tomorrow’s citizens start to be formed. But let us remember the teachers: it takes a lot of work on those who have the training in hand and it takes time. I have great confidence in the Millennial generation, but I realize that we live in a superficial society with little civic sense. Commitment and responsibility must be put at the centre of the discussion: it is fundamental. 

In this emergency situation, we had yet another test of Milan with the heart in hand... 
Yes, it’s the most beautiful aspect of all this tragedy. Starting from the Fedez-Ferragni initiative, which first and with their tools, used optimally, have achieved great results. Young people who live in Milan and who have returned more than anything to the city. Many concrete initiatives were born, in this case there was no problem of "where our money ends up" and positive virtuous circles have been created. 

The postponement of many events, including Design Week, will obviously have an impact on the city. It’s certainly early, but have you already started to think about what the next edition of Superdesign Show at Superstudio will be like? 
For our world and for the whole city this postponement is really impactful, it is useless to deny it. In a context like Superdesign Show, projects are always outlined on what companies and designers want to present. We have always supported and will continue to support the "less fair more museum" vision, we will try to stimulate even more our interlocutors about the need for a different way of explaining design and what is behind all this design. Because it is in these objects that the world of tomorrow can be.

Read the whole CLUB MILANO issue (Gisella Borioli interview, at page 50)