Matteo Thun & Partners’ quiet design approach
Antonio Rodriguez, partner at Matteo Thun & Partners, shares a long-term perspective on designing architecture and products that integrate with their cultural and material context.
This episode of Behind brings us into the world of Matteo Thun & Partners through the voice of Antonio Rodriguez, partner of the studio and part of its journey for over two decades. His perspective offers an insider’s view on a practice that has built its identity around continuity, cultural sensitivity, and a design language that deliberately avoids excess.
Founded more than thirty years ago, Matteo Thun & Partners operates across architecture, interior design, and product design, occasionally extending into communication when it serves the needs of a project. What emerges is an approach that adapts consistently across disciplines. From hotels and residential buildings to eyewear, cookware, and furniture, the scope of work is broad, yet held together by a shared set of values.
The studio’s structure reflects this multidisciplinary nature. With offices in Milan and Munich, its creative core remains firmly rooted in Milan, where conceptual development takes place. Architecture and interiors are developed in the Via Appiani office, while product design and selected interior projects are shaped in a second Milanese location. Munich, meanwhile, supports the coordination and development of projects on an international level. This organisation mirrors the studio’s global reach, with projects spanning from Japan to the United States, while maintaining a strong conceptual centre.
At the heart of Matteo Thun & Partners’ work lies a clear position on how design should relate to its surroundings. Architecture is never as a statement meant to dominate its context. Instead, projects are designed to be immersed in their environment, responding to local culture, architectural traditions, and material conditions.
This attitude translates into a careful use of materials, often sourced directly from the place where a project is built. In architectural projects, this can mean reusing stone excavated on-site for foundations and reintegrating it into the construction itself. Such decisions are practical ways of reinforcing continuity between a building and its landscape. The same logic applies to interiors and products, where natural and traditional materials are favoured, and long-distance sourcing is consciously avoided whenever possible.
Product design follows a similar philosophy. Objects are conceived to coexist with spaces rather than compete for attention. Rodriguez describes a preference for products that carry character without being loud, objects that integrate quietly into everyday life. This restraint result in a form of understated clarity, where proportions, materials, and tactility become the primary means of expression.
Long-term collaborations play a significant role in sustaining this approach. One such relationship is with Desiree, a partnership that has evolved over many years through a shared understanding of design values. The collaboration is built on mutual trust and a common vision: creating products with a strong identity that do not rely on visual noise. Beyond individual objects, this dialogue has extended to spaces, including Desiree’s Milan showroom, reinforcing a design process rooted as much in human relationships as in formal outcomes.
Across architecture, interiors, and products, Matteo Thun & Partners consistently pursues a form of design that is measured, context-aware, and deeply material-driven. The studio focuses on creating work that feels grounded and enduring, projects and objects that quietly enter a place, respect its language, and remain relevant over time.
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