Design Convivio

Gio Ponti (1891-1979) was one of the most eminent and influential figures of architecture and design on the Italian and international scene. In 1921, he graduated in Architecture, and in 1936-39 he became a tenured and then full professor in "Interior Architecture, Furniture Design and Decoration" until 1962, retiring for good in 1967.

His classical training, together with his passion for painting and the decorative arts, delineated the expressive matrix of his design language. During his lengthy career, he designed many renowned pieces of Italian design and realized numerous architectures as well as interiors for homes, offices, and a variety of collective spaces, set-ups, and pavilions for exhibitions and displays.

In 1927, after starting to collaborate with the ceramics manufacturer Richard-Ginori (1923-33), he opened his first studio together with architect Emilio Lancia, and in 1931 he became the creative director of Fontana Arte. In 1928 he founded "Domus", the periodical which was to become his instrument for the elaboration and diffusion of new ideas in architecture, furniture design, and the decorative arts, accompanying the formation of Italian design (until 1976, with a break from 1941-48).

In 1954, he was among the founders of the Compasso d'Oro Award. In 1957 he designed the celebrated Pirelli skyscraper, and the following year he published the book "Amate l'Architettura" ("Love Architecture") and designed the famous Superleggera chair for Cassina.

Franco Albini (1905-1977) was an architect, urban planner, and designer, protagonist of Italian Rationalism and notably one of the most internationally recognized designers.

In 1929, he graduated in Architecture from Politecnico di Milano. In 1949, he was called to the IUAV in Venice as a lecturer in "Interior Architecture, Furniture Design and Decoration", a discipline in which he was appointed adjunct professor in Turin in 1954 before returning to Venice, where he became a full professor in 1957.

In 1964, he returned to Politecnico di Milano as full professor of “Architectural Composition” until 1975.

After two years of apprenticeship at the Ponti and Lancia studio, his professional activity began in 1931 when he opened his first studio with R. Camus and G. Palanti. From 1952/53, he began to sign all design work alongside Franca Helg. In exhibition design, Albini expressed himself at the highest level: the Scipione and contemporary drawings exhibition in Brera (1941), and the Paris Olivetti shop (1956) are exemplary in this respect. Similarly, Albini's museums are recognized as some of the most sophisticated models of post-war Italian museography: Palazzo Bianco (1949-51) and Palazzo Rosso (1952-62) in Genoa are famous examples.

Albini also distinguished himself in furniture design with the Crystal Radio (1938), the Veliero bookcase (1940), as well as Poggi's Luisa chair (1955) and Tre Pezzi armchair (1959).

Also worth mentioning for his design career is the Compasso d'Oro award for the innovative “furniture design” system of the Milan Underground (1964), co-designed with Franca Helg and Bob Noorda.

Carlo De Carli (1910 - 1999), architect, designer, and architectural theorist, was one of Italy’s modern architecture and industrial design protagonists. He graduated in Architecture in 1934 and began his academic career in 1953 as an assistant for Gio Ponti’s course at Politecnico di Milano. In 1961, he was appointed as a lecturer in “Artistic Design for Industry”, but as early as 1962, when Ponti retired, he took over the chair of “Interior Architecture, Furniture, and Decoration”, becoming a full professor in 1965. Dean of the Faculty of Architecture from 1965 to 1968, he continued to teach there until 1986.

His professional activity began in 1940, and his efforts in the field of furniture production were aimed at creating relations between universities, institutions, and the industrial and artisanal production culture. In 1954, he won the Compasso d’Oro award for the famous Mod.683 chair produced by Cassina.

Some of his achievements as an architect and as a promoter of furniture design are particularly significant: the foundation of the magazine “II Mobile Italiano” (1957-1960) and the direction of the “Interni” magazine (1967-71).

Marco Zanuso (1916 - 2001), architect, designer, and urban planner, is regarded as one of the leading international exponents of Italian industrial design.

After graduating from Politecnico di Milano in 1939, he obtained in 1961 a professorship in “Artistic Design for Industry” and was called upon to teach several courses (“Constructive Elements” 1966-68, “Architectural Technology” 1969-72); in 1973, he became an adjunct professor, and in 1976 a full professor in “Artistic Design for Industry”. From 1979, his teaching activities focused exclusively on the teaching of Industrial Design, and since 1984 he was appointed as a full professor in “Artistic Design for Industry”. In 1999, he was awarded an honorary degree in Industrial Design at Politecnico di Milano.

In 1946-47, he was editor-in-chief of Domus magazine with editor Ernesto N. Rogers, and in 1953-56 editor-in-chief of Casabella magazine, also with Rogers as editor.

He participated in the creation of the Compasso d’Oro award in 1954 and the founding of ADI in 1956.

His numerous product design projects include the Lady armchair for Arflex (1951), the Doney (1962) and Algol (1964, together with Richard Sapper) televisions for Brionvega, the Grillo telephone (1966, with Richard Sapper) for Siemens and the Ariante fan (1973) for the Vortice company.

Achille Castiglioni (1918-2002) was one of Italy's most appreciated and internationally renowned architects and designers. He graduated in Architecture in 1944 from Politecnico di Milano, and in 1970 began his career as a lecturer, obtaining a professorship in "Artistic Design for Industry", later becoming an adjunct professor (1977) in "Furniture Design" and then a full professor (1980) in "Artistic Design for Industry" at Politecnico di Torino. In 1981, he was transferred to Politecnico di Milano for the chair in "Interior Design and Architecture", later moving on to teach "Industrial Design" from 1986 to 1988. In 2000, he was awarded an honorary degree in Industrial Design at Politecnico di Milano.

Immediately after the war, he joined the design studio his brothers Livio and Pier Giacomo set up. From 1952, he continued his professional activity alone with Pier Giacomo, with whom he authored numerous celebrated projects, ranging from interior and exhibition design to product design, including the Industrial Design exhibition at the X Triennale in Milan (1954), the innovative domestic environment at the "Colours and Shapes of the House of Today" exhibition at Villa Olmo in Como (1957), the Splügen Braü brewery in Milan (1960), the exhibition "Waterways from Milan to the Sea" at Palazzo Reale in Milan (1963), the Luminator (1955) and Arco lamps for Flos (1962), the Mezzadro (1957) and Sella (1957) chairs for Zanotta. After the death of Pier Giacomo (1968), Achille worked more and more in the field of industrial design, and we recall among his most renowned projects, the lamps Parentesi (1971, based on an initial design by Pio Manzù) and Taraxacum 88 for Flos, and the Cumano folding table (1977) for Zanotta.

Vittoriano Viganò (1919 - 1996), architect, was always interested in intersecting different research directions, from architecture to design, down to urban planning. After graduating in architecture from Politecnico di Milano in 1944, he carried out a short internship at the BBPR studio and later opened his own practice. At the same time, he began his activity in the University, starting in 1946 as a volunteer assistant to Gio Ponti in the teaching of "Interior Architecture, Furniture and Decoration", then as a tenured assistant from 1958 to 1968, and as a lecturer from 1966. In 1969, he became a full professor of "Interior Architecture, Furniture and Decoration" and ended his career by teaching "Architectural Composition" until 1989.

His main internationally recognized architectural projects include the construction of the Marchiondi Institute in Milan (1957/58) and the 'La scala' house in Portese on Lake Garda (1958). Also of note is the later major extension project of the Faculty of Architecture of Politecnico di Milano (1986). In the field of design, in addition to numerous interior and exhibition projects, some of his lamp models for Arteluce from the early 1950s, as well as the “three-piece” and “five-piece” bent plywood chairs (1946/47), made history.

Alberto Rosselli (1921-1976) was an architect, a designer, and a committed promoter of industrial design in Italy; he laid the structural foundations for the establishment of the Technology Area of the Faculty of Architecture at Politecnico di Milano.

After graduating in Architecture in 1947, he was called in 1962-63 to the chair of “Artistic Design for Industry” at Politecnico di Milano, where he also taught “Technology of Architecture” from 1969.

In the early post-war years, he came into contact with Gio Ponti and began to edit the “Design for Industry” column in the magazine “Domus” in 1949. This experience, together with his contribution to the establishment of the Compasso d’Oro award (1954), led him to conceive the crucial magazine “Stile Industria”, of which he was editor-in-chief for its entire duration between 1954 and 1963.

In 1956 he was one of the founders of ADI, the Association for Industrial Design, of which he was the first president (1956-57). For over twenty years, he pursued the design profession, collaborating since the early 1950s with companies such as Cassina, Rima, Kartell, Saporiti, and Montecatini.

At the same time, starting in 1952, he collaborated with architect Gio Ponti and engineer Antonio Fornaroli, associating with them in the “Ponti-Fornaroli-Rosselli” studio, where he would continue to work as an architect throughout his career.

Raffaella Crespi (1929-2011), designer and lecturer, engaged in an intense teaching and "polytechnic" research activity dedicated to the culture of Italian design in terms of material, project, and production.

She graduated in Architecture at Politecnico di Milano in 1955 and soon began her academic career, obtaining a professorship in "Artistic Design for Industry" in 1970, later becoming an adjunct professor first in "Constructive Elements", then a full professor in "Architectural Technology", and finally from 1986 to 2001 in "Industrial Design".

In the 1950s, together with engineer and architect Marcello Grisotti, she opened a design studio active in the fields of architecture, as well as industrial and exhibition design. Since 1957, she has been a member of ADI - Association for Industrial Design and was elected to the Association's Executive Committee in 1962. Between 1973 and 1977, she was President of the Order of Architects of the Province of Milan. In 1974, she started directing the series "Ricerche di Tecnologia dell'Architettura" ("Research on Architectural Technology") for Franco Angeli editore and since 1988, the "Design" series for Hoepli.

Among her product design projects is the famous wicker children's toy Disco Volante (1959) for Vittorio Bonacina.

The dialogues of the protagonists are inspired to the following texts:

Baldini, R. (1959). L’architetto Franco Albini alla scoperta dell’Europa, in “Settimo giorno”, n. 552, 21 maggio, pp. 52-54 .

Bettinelli, E. (2014). La voce del Maestro. Achille Castiglioni. I modi della didattica. Corraini Edizioni, Milano.

Bonsiepe, G. et al. (1968). Marcatre 41/42, Maggio-Giugno, Lerici editore, Milano- Bosoni, G., Bucci, F. (2016). Il Design e gli Interni di Franco Albini. Documenti di Architettura, Electa, Milano.

Contributi alla formazione dell'indirizzo di Laurea in Disegno Industriale e Arredamento, atti registrati a cura dell’indirizzo di laurea in Disegno industriale e arredamento, Politecnico di Milano, Facoltà di Architettura, dispensa n.26, gennaio- maggio, 1984 (redazione Piccinno, G., Servetto, M.)

Ricordo di Franco Albini (2007) in “Rassegna di architettura e urbanistica”, n. 123/124/125, Edizioni Kappa, Roma.- Crespi, R. (1967). Note sul Design, [S.l. : s.n.]

Crespi, R. (2002). Personaggi e Storie di Industrial Design. Mario Adda Editore, Bari.- Crespi, R. (1993). Prefazione in “Sconosciuti e familiari. Oggetti di design ‘anonimo’ prodotti in Svizzera dal 1920” (titolo originale “Unbekannt - Vertraut. «Anonymes» Design im Schweizer Gebrauchsgerät seit 1920”, Claude Lichtenstein (Ed.), edito da Schule und Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, 1987), Hoepli, Milano.

De Carli, C., (1982). Architettura, Spazio primario, Hoepli editore, Milano.

Faroldi, E., Vettori, M.P. (a cura di) (1995). Dialoghi d’architettura, Vittoriano Viganò. Lettera Ventidue, terza edizione 2019, pp. 157-170.

Fratelli Castiglioni (2007) in L'Europeo n.6, Il miglior Design della nostra vita, numero speciale per Triennale Design Museum.

Grignolo, R. (a cura di) (2013). Marco Zanuso. Scritti sulle tecniche di produzione e di progetto. Silvana editore, Milano.

Ottolini, G. (a cura di) (1997). Carlo De Carli e lo spazio primario. Quaderni del Dipartimento di progettazione dell'Architettura del Politecnico di Milano, Laterza, Roma.

Ponti, G. (1957). Amate l'Architettura. L'architettura è un cristallo. Rizzoli Editore, Segrate.

Rizzi, R (2016). Carlo De Carli 1910-1999. Lo spazio primario. Nuova Serie Architettura, Franco Angeli Editore, Milano.

Rosselli, A. (1973). I Metodi del Design. Clup editore, Milano.

Rosselli, A. (1974). Lo spazio aperto, ricerca e progettazione tra design e architettura, Pizzi, Cinisello Balsamo, Milano.

Rosselli, P., Di Nofa, E, Paleari, F. (a cura di)(2022). Alberto Rosselli. Architettura, design e "Stile Industria". Habitat, Quodlibet, Macerata.

Fracassi, A., Riva, S., (a cura di) (1981) Stile industria: Alberto Rosselli, Università di Parma – Centro studi e archivio della Comunicazione, quaderni 50, Parma.

Stocchi, A. (2004). Vittoriano Viganò. Etica brutalista. Universale di Architettura, Testo & Immagine editore, Milano.

Viganò, V. (1961). L’architettura degli interni e il mobile italiano dal dopoguerra a oggi, in “Argomenti d’architettura”, 3 (10), Testimonianza ’45-’61.

Viganò, V. (a cura di) (1994). Vittoriano Viganò, Una ricerca e un segno in architettura, Electa, Milano.

Exhibition promoted by the Department of Design with the School of Design, Poli.Design and the Historical Archives of Politecnico di Milano

Curated by: Giampiero Bosoni with Paola Bertola

Concept and exhibition design: Ico Migliore with Studio Migliore+Servetto

Dialogues screenplay: Paola Albini and Gianni Biondillo

Direction: Paola Albini

Voices: Paola Albini, Gianni Biondillo, Gianluigi Fogacci, Sergio Leone, and Enrico Ballardini.

Character illustrations: Ico Migliore

Text research and selection: Giampiero Bosoni with Marta Elisa Cecchi

Archival research: Giampiero Bosoni, Maria Teresa Feraboli

Exhibition realization: Tecnolegno, Eletech

Audio production: Topdigital

Video production: Giallobarone

Graphic design and corporate image: Umberto Tolino, Andrea Manciaracina, Marco Quaggiotto, Studio Migliore+Servetto

3D printing: Patrizia Bolzan with Polifactory

Communication and Press Office: Ufficio Comunicazione Dipartimento di Design con Servizio Relazioni con i Media Politecnico di Milano

Scientific curator of the program for the relaunch of the historical Library of Politecnico di Milano: Federico Bucci

with the support of:

Archivi Storici Politecnico di Milano

Area Campus Life Politecnico di Milano

Area Public Engagement e Comunicazione Politecnico di Milano

Lab Immagine del Dipartimento di Design

Lab Prototipi del Dipartimento di Design

Polifactory Dipartimento di Design