Marco Zanuso
Encyclopedia
The early years
Marco Zanuso was born in Milano (ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) May 14, 1916.He was one of a group of Italian designers from Milan shaping the international idea of "good design" in the postwar years. Trained in architecture at the Politecnico di Milano university, he opened his own design office in 1945. From the beginning of his career, at Domus where he served as the editor from 1947–49 and at Casabella
Casabella
Casabella is an Italian architectural and product design magazine with a focus on modern, radical design. It includes interviews with the world's most prominent architects....
where he was editor from 1952–56, he helped to establish the theories and ideals of the energetic Modern Design movement. As a professor of architecture, design and town planning at the Politecnico from the late 1940s until the 1980s, and as one of the founding members of the ADI in the 1950s, he also had a distinct influence over the next design generation coming out of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Experiments & Contributions
The major pieces of his career run a broad spectrum from early experiments in bent metal to luxurious, plush furniture to sleek industrial designs in plastic. The underlying motif throughout each phase of his work is that he was pioneering the use and market accessibility of every different material he worked with. Some of his first work to be shown at all, and certainly to be shown outside of Italy, was at the Low-Cost Furniture competition sponsored by the MoMAMoma
Moma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...
in 1948. His design featured a metal frame chair that used a breakthrough method to join the fabric seat to the frame. In 1948 Pirelli
Pirelli
Pirelli & C. SpA is a diverse multinational company based in Milan, Italy. The company, the world’s fifth largest tyre manufacturer, is present in over 160 countries, has 20 manufacturing sites around the world and a network of around 10,000 distributors and retailers.Founded in Milan in 1872,...
opened a new division, Arflex
Arflex
Arflex is an Italian company that makes and sells contemporary furniture.-The Company History:In 1947 a group of researchers and entrepreneurs who after the war had begun to work on two new upholstering materials – foam rubber and elastic tape made by Pirelli – presented the technical...
, to design seating with foam rubber upholstery. They commissioned Zanuso to produce their first models. His "Antropus" chair came out in 1949, followed by the "Lady" chair, which won first prize at the 1951 Milan Triennale. Zanuso lauded the new material, "One could revolutionize not only the system of upholstery but also the structural manufacturing and formal potential...our prototypes acquired visually exciting and new contours...with industrial standards that were previously unimaginable."
The '50s & '60s
In 1957 he partnered with German designer Richard SapperRichard Sapper
Richard Sapper, born 1932 in Munich, is a German industrial designer based in Milan, Italy. He is considered one of the most iconic designers of his generation, his products typically featuring a combination of technical innovation, simplicity of form and an element of wit and surprise...
. One of their first projects was a small, stackable child's chair (1961) in non-reinforced plastic. This piece was light, functional and playful, manufactured in several bright colors and it was among the furniture designs responsible for convincing people that plastic was a viable and appropriate material for the modern home. Zanuso and Sapper were hired in 1959 as consultants to Brionvega
Brionvega
Brionvega is an Italian electronics company, established in Milan in 1945, now located in Pordenone, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.Former part of the Seleco-Formenti Group, after the crack down of the company, following price dumping from Turkish manufacturers, has been split in two parts.The rights...
, an Italian company trying to produce stylish electronics that would, at least outwardly, best those being made in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. They designed a series of radios and televisions that became enduring icons of an aesthetic known as "techno-functionalism". Their rounded, compact and portable "Doney 14" (1962) was the first completely transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
television. Working with the language of sculptural minimalism they designed the successful folding "Grillo" telephone for Siemens
Siemens AG
Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
(1966). This was one of the first phones to put the dial and the earpiece on the same unit.
The '70s
In a 1972 they designed a series of dwellings for the "New Domestic Landscape" show at the MoMA. Each stacking unit, like ultramodern teepees, unfolded to a living area complete with all the facilities and many of the accessories of a small apartment. Zanuso wrote that they were, "designed for all situations that require immediately available, easily transportable living quarters." As with the rest of their work, the hallmarks of these designs were elegance and imaginationThe Museums
Different items of his work in the collections of the Museum of Modern ArtMuseum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Triennale Milano, Triennale Tokyo, Vitra Museum
Vitra Design Museum
The Vitra Design Museum is an internationally renowned, privately owned museum for design in Weil am Rhein, Germany.Vitra CEO Rolf Fehlbaum founded the museum in 1989 as an independent private foundation...
, Arflex Museum and Kartell Museum.
Significant Products
1951 armchair "Lady" for arflex (Medaglia d'Oro Triennale)1952 armchair "Martingala" for arflex
1952 sofa "Tripoltrona" for arflex (Medaglia d'Oro Triennale)
1954 sofa "Sleep-o-matic" for arflex (Medaglia d'Oro Triennale)
1955 Olivetti buildings in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
and San Paolo
San Paolo
San Paolo is a comune in the Province of Brescia, in the Italian region Lombardy....
1960 chair "Lambda" with Richard Sapper
Richard Sapper
Richard Sapper, born 1932 in Munich, is a German industrial designer based in Milan, Italy. He is considered one of the most iconic designers of his generation, his products typically featuring a combination of technical innovation, simplicity of form and an element of wit and surprise...
for Gavina
1962 television "Doney" for Brionvega
Brionvega
Brionvega is an Italian electronics company, established in Milan in 1945, now located in Pordenone, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.Former part of the Seleco-Formenti Group, after the crack down of the company, following price dumping from Turkish manufacturers, has been split in two parts.The rights...
1963 car for Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...
1964 television "Algol" for Brionvega
Brionvega
Brionvega is an Italian electronics company, established in Milan in 1945, now located in Pordenone, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.Former part of the Seleco-Formenti Group, after the crack down of the company, following price dumping from Turkish manufacturers, has been split in two parts.The rights...
1964 armchair "Woodline" and "Fourline" for arflex
Arflex
Arflex is an Italian company that makes and sells contemporary furniture.-The Company History:In 1947 a group of researchers and entrepreneurs who after the war had begun to work on two new upholstering materials – foam rubber and elastic tape made by Pirelli – presented the technical...
1964 child's chair K4999 Kartell
Kartell
Kartell is an Italian company that makes and sells plastic contemporary furniture.The company, headquartered in Milan, began manufacturing automobile accessories in 1949. It expanded into home furnishings in 1963....
1965 Redio TS 502 for Brionvega
Brionvega
Brionvega is an Italian electronics company, established in Milan in 1945, now located in Pordenone, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.Former part of the Seleco-Formenti Group, after the crack down of the company, following price dumping from Turkish manufacturers, has been split in two parts.The rights...
1966 telephone "Grillo" for Siemens
Siemens AG
Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
1969 television "Black" for Brionvega
Brionvega
Brionvega is an Italian electronics company, established in Milan in 1945, now located in Pordenone, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.Former part of the Seleco-Formenti Group, after the crack down of the company, following price dumping from Turkish manufacturers, has been split in two parts.The rights...
1970 table "Marcuso" for Zanotta
1970 pen "Hastil" for Aurora
1974 IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
building in Milano
1998 New theatre Piccolo teatro in Milano