Teatro Armani Milan: Converted from a former Nestle Chocolate Factory

It started with the Domus commission for Teatro Armani by Tadao Ando. Richard was apprehensive; in so many high-profile locations the photographer needs to engage the skills of an international diplomat, being seen as a nuisance, getting in the way and disturbing routine. Here at Teatro Armani and all subsequent Armani locations the attitude was, ‘We know your photography will contribute to our profile and our brand. How can we help?'

Pantelleria: One of several stray cats adopted by the house . The bar - the best place to stargaze. Armani Casa details.

Hospitality and kindness from any company have rarely been surpassed and nowhere more so than in Mr Armani's home on Pantelleria, an Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea closer to Tunisia than Sicily. When Mr Armani's plans changed and he was unable to join us, his sister Rosanna came, her enthusiasm for sharing the joys of the island extending to loading us up with bags of Pantelleria capers and introducing us to Passito de Pantelleria, a dessert wine we describe as liquid Christmas pudding. Stray cats had been adopted and lounged around the property. It was clear it would be easy to relax here. An American writer of repute had visited, allegedly for only a day, the previous week for the magazine that had first rights to our photographs; we never met, we never spoke. I had been commissioned by German magazine, Ambiente, to write for them. Acting as second assistant to Richard and our Italian assistant Valeria, I had the privilege to immerse myself in the property day and night, to experience the changes in light and appreciate the colours of the lava chippings and the tall, circular dry-stone walls built to protect the citrus, plants - and people - from very strong winds. This circular stone wall construction, with the addition of a domed roof, made a Dammuso, the ancient and traditional house of the island.

Pantelleria: Traditional protection from the Mistral and the Scirocco winds by tall lava stone walls.

By contrast, I wasn't involved with Chater House, the antithesis of Pantelleria. This is a commercial building in Hong Kong and a flagship for the Armani brands. Here, interiors for Emporio Armani are created by Doriana and Massimiliano Fuksas

Chater House Hong Kong: Restaurant Emporio Armani by Doriana and Massimiliano Fuksas

and the Giorgio Armani brand by Claudio Silvestrin. Again, Richard and Valeria were regarded as part of the team, involved in the opening and seen as part of the Armani Crew - I think we still have the teeshirt.

Chater House Hong Kong: Giorgio Armani by Claudio Silvestrin

Dial up the luxury to refined opulence and we find ourselves in Dubai and the marketing suite for the Armani Residences within the Burj Khalifa Tower.

Armani Residences Dubai: all furnishings are made-to-measure with customized finishes.

For us this is a great team as it involved Pentagram. There are several visits. On one visit Armani sends stylists who allegedly know what Mr Armani wants. However, after we send their styled images they're summoned back to Milan and we carry on. Not that everything is right - it's little things, things you wouldn't foresee -for example, can we photoshop out the pot in the bathroom on the right and move it to the left, or make the room even darker? The overall brief was dark.

Armani Residences Dubai: Restrained and subtle colour palette.

We have dipped into many and varied lives, workplaces and institutions but few with such international acclaim as Armani and few with such helpful and welcoming staff. That attitude must surely have come from the top.

Musings from my life in photography and architecture ©Lynne Bryant
All photographs ©Richard Bryant. They may not be downloaded, scraped or copied in anyway without prior permission from Richard Bryant and negotiation of a licence.