MARCO ZANUSO

Born in Milan in 1916, he received his degree in architecture in 1939. In 1945 he kicked off his career as a designer, architect and planner. As soon as the war ended he played an active part in the cultural debate in the Modern Movement; he was a member of CIAM (Congrès Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne) and the National Town Planning Institute. From 1947 to 1949 he was editor-in-chief of Domus and in the 1950s he was on the editorial staff of Casabella, which was headed by Ernesto Rogers. In 1947 he began to design furniture in metal tubing, reinterpreting the Rationalist tradition. Since then, as a designer he has addressed the problem of the relationship between the architect and the manufacturer, between design and experiment, between the product's function and the fresh forms or materials. In 1954 he took part in the establishment of the Industrial Design Association and the conception of the Compasso d'Oro Prize. Subsequently, he took stands in public bodies in the planning and design fields, making a crucial contribution to the Milan Triennale and city planning.

At the same time, he generated some astoundingly fine and numerous objects, achieving ever more international success. He has received many Compasso d'Oro awards and others, too. Several of his pieces are owned by the New York Museum of Modern Art. Capping his long teaching career, since 1979 he has been professor of industrial design at the School of Architecture of the Milan Polytechnic. Since 1981 he has been the president of the Planning and Production Department there. Marco Zanuso has been working for Zanotta since 1969.