Alessandro Mendini

Alessandro Mendini

Alessandro Mendini (born August 16, 1931 in Milan ; † February 18, 2019 there ) was an Italian designer and architect . He played an important role in the development of design in Italy and, in addition to his artistic career, worked as editor-in-chief and publisher of the magazines Casabella , Modo and Domus .

Life

Alessandro Mendini studied architecture at the Milan Polytechnic and graduated in 1959. He then worked with the Nizzoli Associati architectural office. In the seventies he was one of the most important figures in the “ Radical Design ” protest movement . In 1973 he was a founding member of the Global Tools group , and in 1979 he joined Studio Alchimia . There it came to the collaboration with Ettore Sottsass , Andrea Branzi , Michele De Lucchi , Robert & Trix Haussmann and others. In 1982 he co-founded the first postgraduate design school, the Domus Academy in Milan. In 1989 Mendini founded Studio Mendini together with his brother Francesco (* 1939).

Mendini was editor-in-chief of the architecture magazine Casabella (1970–76) and von Modo (1977–81) as well as editor of the magazine Domus (1979–85; 2010–11). In 1988 he founded the magazine Ollo .

Act

Proust armchair (1978), new edition 2003

Groninger Museum (1994)

Mendini was a trendsetter of his time, and his work tried to combine art, architecture and design. Together with other Italian designers, he developed the so-called “ banal design ”, which reinterpreted everyday objects by adding color, patterns and small shapes. Mendini called this process redesign .

Around 1978 he concentrated on redesigning seating furniture. The starting material was classic like the chair Wassily by Marcel Breuer , the 699 Superleggera by Gio Ponti or the Thonet chair, beyond cheap Gebrauchtmöbel past decades or historicizing pieces of unknown origin, from which the sofa Kandissi and the famous armchair Proust (base Louis XVI Style).

After an order from Frans Haks in 1988, Studio Mendini developed the concept for the Dutch Groninger Museum in internal collaboration with Alchimia and the external offices of Philippe Starck , Frank Stella and Michele De Lucchi (completed in 1994). In 1989 the paradise tower ( torre paradiso ) was planned and executed for Hiroshima . The Groninger Museum in particular is called one of the most wonderful modern architectures of the second half of the 20th century and was chosen as one of the “1001 Architectures to See Before You Die”. Mendini always placed great value on teamwork in his works. The projects were often implemented in cooperation with guest architects.

Become known as the mass-produced for the Italian housewares manufacturers Alessi designed corkscrew Anna G. (named after the artist and designer Anna Gili, was associated with the Mendini) and Alessandro M. , and the waiter cutlery Parrot. From 1979 Mendini was an image and design consultant for Alessi. In a friendly relationship with Alberto Alessi, who has been running the family business since 1970, numerous projects were created for Alessi, partly in collaboration with Alchimia, including the Alessis private home in Omegna on Lake Orta ( Casa della Felicità 1983) and the art and industry museum Forum Omegna (1996) are the most important.

Swatch wrist watch Lots of Dots

Mendini created furniture for Zanotta and Cappellini ( Archetto , a cupboard in the shape of an arch), wallpaper for Rasch (the artist wallpapers Colonna and Luna ), laminates for Abet Laminati, tiles for Bisazza and door handles for FSB. He also worked for Driade, Mamoli ( Euclide bathroom fittings series ), Fiat, Glas Italia ( Specchio di Proust and Onda mirror ), Koziol ( XL bag , in cooperation with Maria-Christina Hamel, 2007), Lucente ( Remember lamp ) , Poltrona Frau, Riva ( Unicorno children's room furniture ), Ritzenhoff (milk glass, 1992), Up & Up ( Liberia and Templetto Alto tables ), Valucine ( Artematica Curva kitchen ), Venini ( Berito vase , 1988; Soldato di Vetro vase , 2001), Vitra ( Maracata armchair and sofa , 1988) and Zabro. In the early 1990s, he planned various showrooms for Swatch and developed a number of watch designs, including the “2. Club special Lots of Dots ”, which impressively reflects his interpretation of the pointillism style.

His work can be found in numerous museums and private collections around the world. One example is the Amuleto desk lamp , which Mendini designed for the Ramun company in 2010 and which was included in the New Collection of the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich.

Awards

Alessandro Mendini has received numerous international awards, such as the Italian Compasso d'Oro industrial design award in 1979; in 1981 together with Studio Alchimia and in 2014 for his life's work. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2011 by the École normal supérieure Paris-Saclay (ENS Paris-Saclay). In 2014 he received the prestigious European Prize for Architecture from the Chicago Athenaeum and the “European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Sudies”. He was the holder of an honorary title from the “Architectural League of New York”, a “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” of the republic France, honorary doctorate from the Milan Polytechnic and honorary citizen of the city of Gwangju in Korea .

Projects (selection)

• The house of the entrepreneur Alberto Alessi on Lake Orta in 1983
• La Torre civica a Gibbelina Nuova 1987
• The Groninger Museum 1988-1994
• The Torre Paradiso in Hiroshima 1989
• The Steintor tram stop at BUSSTOPS in Hanover 1994
• The redesign of the facade of the Casino Arosa in Arosa 1996
• The Forum di Omegna , a multifunctional park and museum in 1996
• The School of Mosaic Art in Spilimbergo , Friuli 1997
• The redesign of the "Teatro Comunale della Bicchieraia" (today "Teatro Comunale Pietro Aretino") in Arezzo in 1998
• The renovation of the historic "Parco della Villa Communale" in Naples in 1999
• The Salvator Rosa subway station and square design in Naples 2000
• The Materdei metro station in Naples 2003
• The Galleria Mendini in Tumringerstrasse in Lörrach 2004
• The Bruno Bianchi swimming pool in Trieste 2004
• The media center of the Madsack publishing company in the Steintorviertel of Hanover 2007
• The University metro station in Naples (with Karim Rashid) 2010
• The observation tower for Suncheon Park , Korea 2017

Web links

Commons : Alessandro Mendini  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of the Mendini design studio
• Alessandro Mendini in the International Design Lexicon

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Neil Genzlinger: Alessandro Mendini, Designer Known for Splash, Is Dead at 87. In: The New York Times , March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
2. ^ Addio ad Alessandro Mendini, designer and artist . In: artslife.com (Italian or English). Retrieved March 25, 2019.
3. ↑ Radical Design . In: Design Lexicon International. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
4. ↑ “Mendini aveva intuizioni geniali” . In: La Stampa of February 20, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
5. ↑ Alessandro Mendini . In: Design Lexicon International. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
6. ^ XI edizione Premio Compasso d'Oro . ADI - Associazione per il Disegno Industriale. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
7. ^ XII edizione Premio Compasso d'Oro . ADI - Associazione per il Disegno Industriale. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
8. ↑ XXIII edizione Premio Compasso d'Oro . ADI - Associazione per il Disegno Industriale. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
9. ^ The Chicago Athenaeum (TCA) at Galena Announces a Major New Art Acquisition . Chicago Atheneum Museum website. Retrieved March 11, 2019
10. ↑ European Prize for Architecture 2014 of the “European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies”. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
11. ↑ La Torre civica di Alessandro Mendini a Gibellina Nuova . Trapani Province Tourism Portal.
12. ^ Alessandro Mendini Awarded the European Prize for Architecture . In: archdaily.com of December 19, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
13. ↑ La Piscina Bianchi . Swimming pool website. Retrieved March 30, 2019.