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From Home Furnishing Business
AKA Announces Italian Architect Piero Lissoni as Design Partner
July 20,
2016 by in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry 
A brand of luxury extended-stay lodgings and residences, AKA chose Italian architect and designer Piero Lissoni as design partner for its latest project.
The tower called AKA University City is located in Philadelphia and sits adjacent to the Schuylkill River.
The project includes Level 28, an entire floor dedicated to health and wellness in addition to multiple floors of apartments and hotel suites. AKA University City is part of Cira Centre South, an 830,000-square-foot mixed-use space that’s being dubbed “Philadelphia’s first vertical neighborhood
Lissoni has been tasked with furnishing the residences and suites from top to bottom, including designing and curating upholstery, fabrics, lighting, and furniture.
Over the past several months, he and his team at Lissoni Associati have been collaborating with some of Italy’s leading furniture manufacturers to hand-select products in natural materials like wool, linen, and cotton.
“We want AKA’s guests to feel comfortable, so the furniture is clearly residential, designed by some of Italy’s most iconic designers and manufacturers, including my partner Piero Lissoni. Though I lean clearly to the modern, the selections are not cold—I always have an eye towards warmth with a little bit of whimsy ”says Nicoletta Canesi, partner and co-founder of Lissoni Associati.
AKA University City is expected to open this autumn.