Gino Valle (1923 – 2003) Italian Architect, Designer and Town Planner

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Gino Valle photo in black and white
Gino Valle photo in black and white

Gino Valle (1923 – 2003) was an Italian architect, designer, and town planner. He was born in Udine.

Education

He studied at the Instituto Universitario di Architettura, Venice, to 1948. From 1951, he was at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Biography

He began working in 1948 in the architect’s office of his father, Provino Valle, in Udine. Subsequently, Gino and his brother Nani Valle took over the firm. 

From 1977, he was a professor at the Instituto Universitario di Architettura, Venice. 

He collaborated on numerous industrial and commercial buildings in northern Italy, including Udine and the 1961 Zanussi administration building, Pordenone. 

Gino Valle example of brutalist architecture
Gino Valle’s example of brutalist architecture

His buildings related both Brutalism and Rationalism. His 1965-66 double house in Udine reflected regional styles. He was best known for his automated schedule boards in train stations and airports., produced by Solari. His systems used modular flaps, as did his domestic table clocks on a more modest scale. In the 1980s, Valle (with others) designed IBM buildings in La Defense, Paris. 

Solari Udine - Cifra 5 Desk clock by Gino Valle for Solari
Solari Udine – Cifra 5 Desk clock by Gino Valle for Solari
Gino Valle Wall Clock - Big Solari Udine Dator 10 Airport Flip Italy 1960S Italian Mid-Century Modern
Gino Valle Wall Clock – Big Solari Udine Dator 10 Airport Flip Italy 1960S Italian Mid-Century Modern

Recognition

  • 1956 (Cifa 5 clock), 
  • 1953 (indicator board), 
  • 1956, and 1963 Compasso d’Oro. 
  • Work subject of one-person 1979 ‘Gino Valle: Architetto 1950-1978’ exhibition, Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea di Milano. 
  • Cylindrical table clock included in 1984 ‘Design Since 1945’ exhibition, Philadelphia Museum of Art. 

Sources

100 Objects of Italian Design. (2010, April 15). In S. Annicchiarico (Ed.), Permanent Collection of Italian Design, the Milan Triennale.

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

Albera, G., Monti, N., & R. (1989, July 15). Italian Modern: A Design Heritage.

Meyhofer, D., & Amsoneit, W. (1995, April 1). Contemporary European Architects. In Vol. 2

Sparke, P. (1988, October 1). Design in Italy. In Eighteen-Seventy to the Present.

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