Michael Polisano, Studio Designer at PLP Architecture, has been interviewed by Architecture Lab as part of a feature on designers shaping the future of architecture. The piece highlights Michael’s role in delivering the studio’s new London workspace and his wider contributions to the practice’s industrial design and sustainability research.

Michael joined PLP in 2020 and leads the studio’s growing industrial design work, developing bespoke products, systems and materials that integrate seamlessly with architecture. His collaboration with PLP Labs has explored biobased materials such as timber and mycelium, as well as AI-powered systems and circular material flows across building and product scales.

The design of the new PLP studio brought these ideas together. Michael helped lead a fit-out process that challenged conventional approaches to workplace design. From the outset, the team focused on minimising waste and embodied carbon, carefully retaining and repurposing existing elements, and selecting natural materials to promote wellbeing. Kitchen worktops were made from recycled architectural samples, while timber and other warm finishes were used to foster a sense of comfort and creativity.

This focus on circularity is a key underlying trend in projects across the studio, including the award-winning National Meteorological Centre in Korea, the team is exploring timber construction, passive systems and material innovation.

The interview also touches on Michael’s background in industrial design, his early influences, and the importance of collaboration and curiosity in fuelling creativity at all scales.

Read the full interview with Michael Polisano on Architecture Lab here.