An Author’s Vision: Architect Paolo Volpato and the Design of the Future.

For the editorial of issue 11 of I AM Magazine, we met with architect Paolo Volpato who shared his vision of the design of the future — moving between the need for transformation and a return to essence.

Contemporary design is undergoing a profound transformation. In response to visual saturation and formal excess, a new pursuit of essentiality is emerging—prompting us to ask where the true value of design lies today, and how it will evolve in the future.

We’ve long witnessed a “circular” system of trends: first the revival of the 1940s, then the ’50s, and so on, leading in recent years to the rediscovery, reuse, and re-edition of pieces and inspirations from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. These trends, however, quickly lose relevance. Instead, I envision essential and functional products, where light, color, and the use of noble, natural materials express a direction that is unlikely to fade.

From my perspective, the value of contemporary design—and its future—lies in the ability to subtract, to bring the project back to its essence. I’ve always been drawn to the concept of “design without ornament,” a theme rooted in a historical and critical reflection that spans from Modernism to today. Adolf Loos, in his famous 1908 essay Ornament and Crime, condemned ornament as a superfluous expression—one that ages quickly and leads to waste.

With the Modern Movement, this stance became a core principle: eliminate decoration in favor of function, clarity of proportion, and material honesty. Today, a century later, this issue is renewed through ethical and ecological lenses.

Subtraction does not mean impoverishment, but concentration: a language reduced to its bare essentials can convey profound meaning. In an age of visual excess, sober design restores clarity, strengthens the relationship with the user, and affirms longevity as an aesthetic and cultural value.

Paolo Volpato
Architect