Ignazio Gardella began working on architectural projects in Alessandria in 1929, including the Dispensario Antitubercolare (1929-1930), which is regarded as an example of Italian Rationalism, and the Laboratorio Provinciale di Igiene. He was laying the groundwork for his future career as an architect. He was recognised for his work in the Rogers editorial group’s journal “Casabella,” famed for its Italian architecture creativity.
Early Years
Despite being one of the most prominent proponents of the style, Gardella chose to break free from Rationalism’s creative limits. To that goal, he travelled to many countries to study different techniques. He began by travelling to Germany, where he attended the Frankfurt School and became acquainted with German architecture. In 1938, he travelled to Finland to see Ilmari Tapiovaara’s mentor, designer Alvar Aalto. That same year, he returned to Italy with a completely new design concept. He designed the Milan-Green concept, which became the foundation for the AR Plan to reconstruct the city following WWII.
Biography
Gardella and a group of young architects from Milan created the Studi Architettura Movement in 1945 after WWII, intending to outline the foundations of Italian Rationalism. From building design to university lectures, the group championed postwar Italian architecture. Gardella began teaching at the IUAV in Venice in 1947 and was promoted to a chaired position in 1962.
Throughout the 1950s, Gardella was involved in key initiatives that helped to rebuild Italy. The Galleria d’Arte Contemporanea in Milan (1953), the Casa delle Zattere in Venice (1958), and the Olivetti canteen in Ivrea are among them (1958). He began working on increasingly difficult projects that necessitated superior architectural and engineering skills in the years that followed. Among the most notable examples are the Alfa Romeo offices in Arese (1972), the new headquarters of the Faculty of Architecture in Genoa (1989), and the Palace of Justice in La Spezia (1994).
Ignazio Gardella was critical of his work and frequently wished to break free from Rationalism’s canons. Sensitivity and a good eye, he thought, were the tools for creating forms and thicknesses. This defiance led to his Digamma armchair, which was first published in 1957 by Dino Gavina and is presently published by Santa & Cole. With a rationalist body (seat and back) and ultra-rational articulations (arms and legs), the Digamma armchair (1957) is the clearest manifestation of Gardella’s effort to overcome Rationalism: it is a little masterpiece of great aesthetic and formal worth.
Recognition
The President of the Italian Republic awarded Ignazio Gardella the Medaglia d’oro ai benemeriti della scienza e della culture in 1996. Gardella’s career in architecture and design has been one of national renewal, as he is voracious and determined. Jacopo Gardella, his son, became an architect as well.
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.
Ignazio Gardella – Biography | Santa & Cole. https://www.santacole.com/en/biographies/?ignazio-gardella
Additional Reading
Ambasz, E. (Ed.). (1972). Italy: The new domestic landscape: Achievements and problems of Italian design (No. 15). New York Graphic Society Books.Bosoni, G. (2008). Italian design. MoMA.
Burigana, A., & Ciampi, M. (2006). Italian designers at home. Seagull Books.
Calefato, P. (2021). Fashion as Cultural Translation: Signs, Images, Narratives. United Kingdom: Anthem Press.
Celant, G., & Strauss, C. (2020). Radical: Italian Design 1965-1985: The Dennis Freedman Collection. The Museum of Fine Arts.
Ciampi, M., Burigana, A. (2006). Italian Designers at Home. United Kingdom: Antique Collectors Club Limited.
Gnoli, S., Bowles, H. (2020). The World of Federico Forquet: Italian Fashion, Interiors, Gardens. United States: Rizzoli International Publications, Incorporated.
Hunt, J. D. (Ed.). (1996). The Italian Garden: Art, Design and Culture. Cambridge University Press.
Lazzaro, C., & Lieberman, R. (1990). The Italian Renaissance garden: from the conventions of planting, design, and ornament to the grand gardens of sixteenth-century Central Italy (p. 826). New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Lees-Maffei, G., & Fallan, K. (2014). Made in Italy rethinking a century of Italian design. Bloomsbury.
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‘The New Domestic Landscape’ – MoMA’s ambitious design show 1972
THE NEW DOMESTIC LANDSCAPE was one of The Museum of Modern Art’s most ambitious design shows. The exhibition, directed and built by Emilio Ambasz, Curator of Design in the Museum’s Department of Architecture and Design, focused on current design trends in Italy with 180 items for everyday use and 11 environments commissioned by the Museum.Read More →
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Flavio Conti Italian architect and designer
Flavio Conti is an Italian architect and designer; born Legnago, Verona; active Milan. He studiedRead More →
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Michele Provinciali (1921 – 2009) Italian Industrial Designer
He received the ADI’s Compasso d’Oro Award for his career in 2008. Michele Provinciali provides an alternative trend to the late rationalist approach typical of the postwar period in every art form. He is expressive, poetic, experimental, abnormal, and refined in every art form.Read More →
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Luigi Massoni (b.1930) Italian Industrial Designer
After a period of training at the Collettivo di Architettura in Milan and his first professional experiences between 1953 and 1955, he began his design career by making the cocktail shaker (1957, with Carlo Mazzeri) and the Serie 5 containers, which are still in production, for AlessiRead More →
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The evolving designs of Arper | Design ♥︎
Arper is the epitome of minimalist elegance and its products are perfectly suited to all kinds of commercial environments. With a growing range, we take a look at the latest offerings from the classic Italian house. Colour blocking made cool With classic arching armrests and a mix of materials that are perfectly colour matched, the Arcos brings an art deco edge.Read More →
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Luca Erba (b. 1984) Italian Designer & Architect
He creates projects spanning architecture to decor, interior design, and bespoke collections using thorough territorial, material, and formal research as the cornerstones of his creative process.Read More →
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Tacchini stylish and functional Ottomans
Tacchini aspires to improve the quality of home and public spaces with its furniture. As a result, Tacchini is always analysing and improving its products and services with zeal, inventiveness, and accountability. Read More →
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Sergio Asti (1926 – 2021) Italian Designer and Architect
Asti was born in the city of Milan. In 1956, he founded his design firm after graduating from the Polytechnic University of Milan with a degree in architecture. He was one of the founding members of the Associazione per il Disegno Industriale in the same year.Read More →
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Gae Aulenti (1927 – 2012) Italian architect and designer
Gaetana Aulenti (Gae, as she was known, is pronounced similarly to “guy”) was born in Palazzolo dello Stella (Friuli) and studied architecture at the Milan School of Architecture of the Polytechnic University, graduating in 1954 as one of two women in a class of 20.Read More →
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Paolo Pallucco (b. 1952) Italian architect, furniture designer & Manufacturer
He was born and active in Lissone. He founded Pallucco an awarding winning design firm.Read More →
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Massimo Morozzi (b. 1941) Italian architect and designer
He created Archizoom Associati in 1968 with Andrea Branzi, Gilberto Corretti, and Paolo Deganello, which developed industrial and architectural designs and urban planning and was a notable Italian architecture practice until 1972. Read More →
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