The Architect That Sells : Peter Marino
What does high fashion and Andy Warhol have in common? A lot, but very few know of Peter Marino, a long-time friend of Warhol and architect who is taking over the scene in luxury store design. Marino has cornered the market for those looking for an architect to display a brand’s most valued items. He has become so sought after because it has come to be that the only person that can outshine Peter Marino is Peter Marino.
In 1971 Marino Graduated from Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning. It was from there that he started working for firms such as Skidmore Owings & Merill, George Nelson and I.M. Pei/Cossutta & Ponte. With a good foundation in architecture he opened his own firm and began smaller commissions for the super affluent Rothschild and Agnelli families. His relationship with these families blossomed from his friendship of Warhol.
Like Andy, Peter is a character himself. The only true characteristic that Marino maintains in defining an architect is his love for black clothing. Take one look at Marino and you’ll realize he’s not wearing turtle necks, instead he looks like he just got off a cross country motorcycle tour with his biker gang. Marino wanted to be an artist like Warhol, but architecture is where his career took off. He even states, “I wanted to be an artist, because it's a much better scam than being an architect.”
But many of Marino’s clients wouldn’t consider him to be a scam. Instead, the work done by his office that he founded, Marino Architecture PLLC, have received numerous awards including the AIA Excellence in Design award. His grandeur use of light and space in combination with his appreciation for the arts creates designs that best display the contemporary ideals of todays’ luxury stores. This formula that he has created has led him to design stores for Louis Vuitton, Armani, Zegna, Calvin Klein, Fendi and Christian Dior.
Marino credits his creativity and uniqueness in architecture to his everyday life. “I like the fact that I like to think out-of-the-box. Thinking out-of-the-box goes along with dressing out-of-the-box and living out-of-the-box. If you want to come up with a really original design idea and you want to capture a whole new design direction, perhaps the best way to arrive at that is not by acting and thinking and doing like everybody else. That's all.”
The tattoos on his harms and hands littered with sterling silver skull rings almost acts as a decoy hiding the man who is fluent in French and advanced mathematics. As extreme as his attire may come, the architect behind the clothing is still highly respected in the field. Marino has found himself on the board of the New York Foundation for Architecture. And in France he was named a member of the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.
Even when given great responsibility, to design large commissions for the most private of clients, Peter cannot help but revel in his gratitude for the position he is in due to his unusual starting. When in a particularly good mood he tends to refer to himself in the third person, as “Pedro”. This is the biker Peter Marino that everyone knows compared to the Peter who wore suits in architecture offices starting out his career. This Pedro that he refers to is the genius behind his work. And when asked, while looking at a photo of Pedro, whether that is the real him, he answers, “I don’t know the answer”.
Well if Peter nor Pedro know who the real architect behind this acclaimed work being produced one thing is for certain, the office founded by a young Peter Mariano now headed part time by Peter and Pedro separately knows how culture, whether it be art, fashion or architecture can be sold by a great salesman.
In 1971 Marino Graduated from Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning. It was from there that he started working for firms such as Skidmore Owings & Merill, George Nelson and I.M. Pei/Cossutta & Ponte. With a good foundation in architecture he opened his own firm and began smaller commissions for the super affluent Rothschild and Agnelli families. His relationship with these families blossomed from his friendship of Warhol.
Like Andy, Peter is a character himself. The only true characteristic that Marino maintains in defining an architect is his love for black clothing. Take one look at Marino and you’ll realize he’s not wearing turtle necks, instead he looks like he just got off a cross country motorcycle tour with his biker gang. Marino wanted to be an artist like Warhol, but architecture is where his career took off. He even states, “I wanted to be an artist, because it's a much better scam than being an architect.”
But many of Marino’s clients wouldn’t consider him to be a scam. Instead, the work done by his office that he founded, Marino Architecture PLLC, have received numerous awards including the AIA Excellence in Design award. His grandeur use of light and space in combination with his appreciation for the arts creates designs that best display the contemporary ideals of todays’ luxury stores. This formula that he has created has led him to design stores for Louis Vuitton, Armani, Zegna, Calvin Klein, Fendi and Christian Dior.
Marino credits his creativity and uniqueness in architecture to his everyday life. “I like the fact that I like to think out-of-the-box. Thinking out-of-the-box goes along with dressing out-of-the-box and living out-of-the-box. If you want to come up with a really original design idea and you want to capture a whole new design direction, perhaps the best way to arrive at that is not by acting and thinking and doing like everybody else. That's all.”
The tattoos on his harms and hands littered with sterling silver skull rings almost acts as a decoy hiding the man who is fluent in French and advanced mathematics. As extreme as his attire may come, the architect behind the clothing is still highly respected in the field. Marino has found himself on the board of the New York Foundation for Architecture. And in France he was named a member of the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.
Even when given great responsibility, to design large commissions for the most private of clients, Peter cannot help but revel in his gratitude for the position he is in due to his unusual starting. When in a particularly good mood he tends to refer to himself in the third person, as “Pedro”. This is the biker Peter Marino that everyone knows compared to the Peter who wore suits in architecture offices starting out his career. This Pedro that he refers to is the genius behind his work. And when asked, while looking at a photo of Pedro, whether that is the real him, he answers, “I don’t know the answer”.
Well if Peter nor Pedro know who the real architect behind this acclaimed work being produced one thing is for certain, the office founded by a young Peter Mariano now headed part time by Peter and Pedro separately knows how culture, whether it be art, fashion or architecture can be sold by a great salesman.