Marco Zanuso

(b Milan, 14 May 1916). Italian architect and industrial designer. Having graduated in 1939 from the Politecnico, Milan, he joined the generation of Milanese architects who, immediately after World War II, took up the debate over cultural issues introduced by the Rationalists, while continuing to concentrate on high standards in the practical aspects of their profession. Zanuso's most important architectural works include a number of residential buildings in Milan: the Villa Shapiro (1963), Via XX Settembre, and the experimental housing (1964) in Via Laveno. He also frequently designed buildings for industry, for example the Olivetti complexes at Buenos Aires (1956-9) and S?o Paolo (1957-9), and at Crema, Scarmagno and Marcianise in Italy (1967-70). He also built the main Italian headquarters for IBM (1972-5) at Segrate, Milan, and an IBM factory (1979-83) at Santa Palomba, Rome. His later works include the restructuring (1983-6) of the Teatro Fossati (now Teatro Studio del Piccolo Teatro), Milan, and the complex of the new Piccolo Teatro di Milano (begun 1980). In the field of industrial design he created many of the objects and pieces of furniture that helped to define Italian design in the international market, notably the Borletti sewing-machine (1956), the Doney Brion Vega television set (1962) and furnishings produced by the firms Arflex, Kartell and Siemens. From 1970 he taught such subjects as the technology of architecture, building production and industrial design at the Facolt? di Architettura, Universit? degli Studi, Milan.

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The eminent Italian architect and designer Zanuso was a leading figure in 20th-century Italian industrial design, both in terms of practice and theory. Born in Milan, he studied architecture at the Polytechnic (1935-9) and set up an architectural office after the Second World War. He also served as co-editor of Domus magazine (1946-7) and editor of Casabella magazine (1947-9), during which time he began working as an industrial designer. This included the design of a tubular metal chair for the 1948 Low Cost Furniture Competition (see Day, Robin) at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. In 1950 he was commissioned for experimental furniture designs using foam rubber newly developed by the Pirelli Company, underlining his career-long interest in the relationship between form and technology. The successful outcome of this work led to the formation of the Arflex Company as a subsidiary of Pirelli, with Zanuso assigned the key design role. His 1951 designs for Arflex included the foam-rubber upholstered Lady armchair, the Bridge folding chair, the St Moritz recliner, and a terrace furnished with foam rubber furniture shown at the IX Milan Triennale. Later Arflex designs by Zanuso included the Martingala armchair (1953) and Sleep-o-matic sofabed (1954). From 1958 to   Zanuso enjoyed a productive working relationship with Richard Sapper, resulting in a number of ‘classic’ elegant designs. These included several products for the Brionvega company, most notably a series of radios and televisions, including the Doney 14 (1962) and the Black 201 (1969) models, and the K 1340 polyethylene chair for Kartell (1964). Other designs by Zanuso himself included the 1100 Superautomatico sewing machine for Borletti (1956) and the ABS plastic Grillo telephone for Siemens.

Zanuso's significance has been widely acknowledged through the many prizes that his work has received over the years since 1948, including Gold Medals at six and the Gran Premio at three Milan Triennali, as well as five Compasso d'Oro awards. His work is also represented in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He was also a founding member of Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (ADI), the professional body for Italian designers and a member of CIAM ( Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne) from 1956 to  . He also taught at Milan Polytechnic until 1986.