With a career spanning four decades and projects completed in architecture, urban planning, interior, exhibition and industrial design, Gaetano Pesce is one of the most versatile and unconventional designers of the 20th century. Born in La Spezia — a coastal city in the north of Italy — pesce has called Venice, London, Helsinki and Paris home, before finally relocating to New York in 1980 where he lives and works today. 

Designboom recently visited Pesce’s office in New York and discovered his personal wunderkammer of objects and elements. sitting on his ‘notturno a New York’ sofa, Pesce spoke with us the architecture he appreciates in the city, his approach to new projects, and the creative fascinations that drive his work today.