Lorenzo Apicella

Description	Architect
Born
Lives/Works	Chiswick, London

Best known for...

Lorenzo Apicella is widely known for his involvement in the £37 million re-launch and re-design of the Virgin Atlantic Airways Upper Class cabin.

"The spacious seats and cabin interior are decked out in metallic silver and chrome with red leather, complemented with warm purple textured fabric; and a luxurious new seat is being introduced which will transform amazingly into a 6'8" bed, recreating all the modern comforts of a hotel"

"The centrepiece is a big streamlined bar surrounded by seven soft leather fixed stools for customers to drink, eat and socialize in comfort (turbulence permitting). A new lighting system creates eight different moods depending on the different stages of the flight experience: from dawn to dusk, and from restaurant to lounge. The design is intended to hark back to the romantic era of flying in the 1930s and '40s when, as in Casablanca, travel was glamorous and exciting"

Why is he important?

Lorenzo Apicella is an architect and partner in the London office of international design practice Pentagram. He has been involved in projects including the second-floor restaurant at the Oxo Tower Wharf, and the original re-design of the Virgin Atlantic upper-class cabins. He is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and a Fellow of both the Chartered Society of Designers and the Royal Society of Arts.

His work has been widely published and has featured on television and radio. He has served as a visiting critic to numerous schools of architecture and as a validator to the Royal College of Art in London. He is currently an external examiner to both Birmingham and Oxford Brookes universities.

Historical context

Lorenzo Apicella was born in Ravello, Italy. He studied architecture at Nottingham University, Canterbury College of Art and the Royal College of Art in London. In 1989 he established his own practice, Apicella associates. Clients included The Science Museum, The Natural History Museum, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Philips Electronics, ICL, Volvo, Ford, Sharp, More Group, La Perla, First Direct, Virgin Atlantic, Connect Austria and Citibank.

Before establishing his own firm, Apicella Associates, he previously worked for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), which is one of the world's leading architecture, urban design, engineering, and interior architecture firms. He also worked for CZWG architects, which was set up in 1975 in an attempt to restore an architecture of sensitivity. Finally, he worked for Imagination, which is a company which was founded in 1978. Clients such a Guinness, Players, Citroen and Mazda are just a few who have recruited the company. After setting up Apicella Associates, in 1989, he moved his team to Pentagram in 1998.

Pentagram was founded in 1972 and is one of the best known and most influential graphic, product and architectural design firms in the world. It's partners are distinguished members of the international design community, consistently generating award-winning work of the highest quality.

How to see their work

Apicella's work can be seen all around the world. His widely published projects include the 2nd floor Restaurant at OXO Tower Wharf and also the Research and Design Centre for Adshel. He also designed a mobile bank for TSB.