XII Triennale 1960 – Home and School

It is referred to as the world’s most important cultural exhibit. The 1960 Triennale was the 12th to be held since 1930, and was created around the themes, “Home and School.” It was held during the middle to the “Cold War, and nations from both sides of the ‘Iron Curtain’ were exhibiting by invitation.

With the exhibit space devoted to the home, the Triennale provides a cross-section selection of the outstanding home fashions designs from around the world.

Home and School

XII Triennale was dedicated to “home and school” according to a contextual distinction in three areas: central, peripheral and rural. The entrance to the Exhibition took place via a path from Parco Sempione, curated by Gae Aulenti and Luigi Caccia Dominioni, along which sculptures by various artists were exhibited including Carlo Ramous, Giovanni Somaini and Enrico Bertagnin. A staircase led to the Entrance Hall, set up by Ettore Sottsass jr, and the Hall of Honor, designed by Giovanni Peressutti and Ernst Nathan Rogers.

In this edition the entrance to the Exhibition takes place through a path inside the Sempione Park curated by Gae Aulenti and Luigi Caccia Dominioni together with other architects, along which the sculptures of various artists are exhibited including Carlo Ramous, Giovanni Somaini, Enrico Bertagnin. A staircase leads to the Entrance Hall set up by Ettore Sottsass jr, and from here one continues to the Hall of Honor designed by Giovanni Peressutti and Ernst Nathan Rogers and divided into two rooms, one circular and one elliptical, with the dual function of meeting room and exhibition room for a permanent exhibition.

American Exhibits

The United States was represented by two individual exhibits: a retrospective display work by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, located in the main exhibition hall, and a completely furnished home, the “Casa Americana,” erected in an adjacent park.

The American home was a popular exhibit during the show. It was designed for and built by Aluminum Company of America; the house was both the principal element of the exhibit and “container” for the balance of the display. Although constructed of materials available on the market a Triennale requirement for all exhibited items, the home explores new concepts of construction in the use of aluminium.

Within the home is a collection of equipment, furnishings, and craft objects selected by industrial design firm Walter Dorwin Teague Associates as among the best of contemporary designs in these fields. In all, the work of 30 American designers, demonstrated in the products of 27 companies was represented in the home.

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