Alberto Rosselli (1921-76) Italian architect and industrial designer. He was professionally active in Milan. He was born in Palermo.
Education
1938-39, he studied engineering.
1945-47, architecture, Politecnico di Milano.
Biography
In 1950, Rosselli, Gio Ponti and Antonio Fornaroli established the architecture and design firm Studio PFR. They produced notable structures, including the 1956 Pirelli tower in Milan.
Active concurrently, in 1955, he opened his own office in Milan. He designed transportation for Fiat-Orlandi, appliances, furniture for Arflex, Bonacina, Kartell, and Saporiti, electric clocks and domestic appliances, bathroom fixtures, lighting for Fontana Arte, metalwork, glassware for Salviati, and ceramics for Cesame.
Academia
- 1963-76, he taught industrial design, Politecnico di Milano;
- in 1956, was president of ADI (Associazione per ii Disegno lndustriale);
- 1961-63, was vice-president of ICSID; and,
- In 1963 he became an industrial design assistant professor at the Politecnico di Milano.
In 1957, he developed an interest in plastics, his first design in the medium being a bathroom unit for Montecatini.
He was a member of the 1968 (XIV) Triennale di Milano committee and a founder of the journal Stile Industria, where he was editor 1953-63. Its focus on visual detail helped elevate even the most mundane utilitarian objects to the realm of art. It was a key factor in establishing Italian design’s international reputation, both aesthetically and intellectually.
One of his best-known designs, the colourful and lightweight 1970 one-piece fibreglass Jumbo Chair, was produced 1970-78 by Saporiti; it looked like a shoe in silhouette and was related to his 1969 Moby Dick chaise longue.
His architectural works included the Corriere della Sera newspaper building.
Recognition
- He received gold medals in 1954 (X), 1957 (XI), and 1960 (XII) Triennali di Milano.
- The Jumbo Chair was shown at the 1967 Milano International Furniture Exhibition, the 1970 ‘Modern Chairs 1918-1970’ exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, and the 1983-84 ‘Design Since 1945’ exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
- He received 1957 Compasso d’Oro for his Meteor motor-coach for Fiat-Orlandi.
Additional Works
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture. (2000). United Kingdom: Routledge.
Design Store
Books| Italian Furniture
Inside Milan: Colorfully Creative Italian Interiors
Signature Houses: Private Homes by Great Italian Designers
Images and Translations: The Etruscans Abroad (Thomas Spencer Jerome Lectures)
La Vita e Bella: The elegant art of living in the Italian style
1968: Radical Italian Design: Photographs by Maurizio Cattelan & Pieropaolo Ferrari
Mario Bellini: Italian Beauty: Architecture, Design, and More
Italian Renaissance Furniture
Italian Furniture Design: Ideas Styles Movements
French & Italian Furniture
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Mezzadro Chair – a nod to Italian Agriculture
Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni were not the first twentieth-century designers to consider the tractor seat in relation to sophisticated furniture production: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe used it for the Conchoidal chairs he conceived during the early 1940s. Read More →
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Lino Sabattani (1925 – 2016) Italian Metal Smith
Sabbatini worked as a silversmith from a very early age. He learned metalworking techniques and became interested in shapes derived from natural materials. The Boule teapot and example of his early work was designed for T. Wolff in Germany.Read More →
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Patrizia Ranzo Italian architect and designer
Patrizia Ranzo is an Italian architect and designer. She was born and active in Naples. She studied architecture in Naples to 1981. Read More →
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Cini Boeri Italian Furniture & Industrial Designer
She worked as an interior and furniture designer in the studio of Marco Zanuso, Milan, 1952—63. In 1963, she set up her studio, specializing in civil and interior architecture and industrial design. She was associated with ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale). In 1979, she formed Cini Boeri Associati, Milan. Read More →
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Paolo Venini (1895 – 1959) Italian Glassware Designer
Murano glassware was historically decorated with opulent rubies and gold and fanciful forms in vibrant colours. He hired freelance designers like Martinuzzi and Fulvio Bianconi regularly. Gio Ponti from 1927, Carlo Scarpa from 1932, Eugene Berman from 1951, Ken Scott from 1951, Franco Albini from 1954, and Massimo Vignelli from 1956 were the designers he…
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Massimo Vignelli designer of subway maps to corporate logos
Massimo Vignelli and his wife Leila, an architect, were considered a husband and wife team credited with introducing restrained, European fashion and taste in America in the 1970s.Read More →
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Adalberto Dal Lago (b.1937) – Italian Architect and designer
Adalberto Dal Lago is an Italian architect and designer: born and active Milan. He was an assistant, Facolta di Architettura, Politecnico di Milano from 1964-70 and subsequently chair of interior design and then of the elements of composition. He published books on design and Modern architecture. The European Council commissioned him and architect Marco Zanus…
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Piero Polato (b.1936) Italian Industrial Designer
At ISIA, Urbano, Polato taught metallurgy. He wrote books about design education. Saiet, Avancart, Pellizzari, RAI, Televisione Svizzera Italiana, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Franco Rosso International, Fratelli Coppola, Furla, Mursia Editore, Robots, Zucchi, Il Bustese, and Muncherner Ruck were among his clientele. He was an ADI member (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale).Read More →
Aldo Rossi (1931 – 1997) Italian designer and architect – Encyclopedia of Design
Aldo Rossi (1931 – 1997) was an Italian architect. He was born and professionally active in Milan. He is considered by many to be the greatest Italian architect of the second half of the 20th century. His life as an architect began with Gardella and Zanuso.