Vittorio Gregotti (1927- 2020) was an important Italian architect, designer, design historian, theorist and critic, Gregotti was the editor of several leading Italian design journals. He graduated in architecture from Milan Polytechnic in 1952. He spent his lifetime working in the field as a practitioner, academic, and writer.
Biography
In 1974, he founded Gregotti Associati, of which he was president. He was a professor of architectural composition at the University of Venice, taught in architectural schools in Milan and Palermo, and visiting professor at many of the world’s leading architectural institutions.
Neo-Liberty movement
As a designer, he was associated with the Neo-Liberty movement in the 1950s, particularly the bentwood Cavour chair (1960) designed with his first architectural partners Giotto Stoppino Lodovico Meneghetti, with whom he was associated from 1953 to 1968. Early in his career, he also served as a jury member for the Compasso d’Oro design competition.
His work in design includes La Rinascente department stores, Ferrari graphics and several interior museums.
Vittorio Gregotti Sample of Works (1stDibs)
Exhibitions
He has participated in many international competitions, designing the XIII Milan Triennale section, for which he was awarded the International Grand Prize.
He was also Director of Fine Arts and Architecture at the Biennale of Venice from 1974 to 1976.
Design Writer
A prolific architectural and design writer, he has contributed to mainstream newspapers and the more specialised press. The latter included Casabella (1953–5) and Casabella‐Continuità, for which he was editor-in-chief from 1955 to 1963. He was also director of Edilizia moderna (1963–195), Rassegna (1979–1998) and Casabella (1982–1996). He has contributed to several key publications on Italian design, including a historical essay on the catalogue for Italy’s landmark exhibition:
Emilio Ambasz curated the New Domestic Landscape at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1972. He also wrote (with M. de Giorgi, A. Nulli, and G. Bosoni) the substantial text Disegno del prodotto industriale (Design of the Industrial Product, 1982).
Sources
Angelo Mangiarotti: Biography and Works | Poltrona Frau. https://www.poltronafrau.com/en/designer/angelo-mangiarotti
Woodham, J. M. (2006). A dictionary of modern design. Oxford University Press.
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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 studied architecture, Politecnico di Milano toRead 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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Sigfried Giedion (1888 – 1968) – Swiss art historian and designer
Sigfried Giedion (1888-1968) was a Swiss art historian and designer. He was born in Prague. He studied engineering, at the Technische Hochschule, Vienna. Between 1916-22, he was a student of art history, Zurich, Berlin, and Munich, under Heinrich Wolfflin. In 1923, he met Walter Gropius at the Bauhaus, Dessau, and, in 1925, Le Corbusier in Paris.
Compasso d’Oro – most prestigious industrial design award in the world – Encyclopedia of Design
Embed from Getty Images Aldo Borletti founded the Compasso d’Oro (Golden Compass) competition and the award for product aesthetics at the Italian department store La Rinascente at the X Triennale (see Milan Triennale) in Milan in 1954. In Europe, the award was the first of its kind.
Enzo Frateilo (1914 – ) Italian Designer – Encyclopedia of Design
Enzo Frateili was an Italian designer born in Rome and active in Milan. Frateili began his professional career in 1955. In the early 50s, he worked at Stile Industrial. In 1962 he was the Italian correspondent to the journal form. His books included Archiektur und Komfort (1967) and Design e Civiltà della Machina (1969).