Alessandro Mendini
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alessandro Mendini (born 1931 in Milan) is an Italian designer and architect. He played an important part in the development of Italian design. He also worked, aside from his artistic career, for Casabella, Modo and Domus magazines. In the seventies he was one of the main personalities of the Radical design movement. In 1979 he joined the Studio Alchimia as a partner and here he worked with Ettore Sottsass and Michele De Lucchi.
As architect, he designed several buildings; for example the Alessi residence in Omegna, Italy; the theater complex "Teatrino della Bicchieraia" in the Tuscan city of Arezzo; the Forum Museum of Omegna, Italy; a memorial tower in Hiroshima, Japan; the Groningen Museum in The Netherlands; the Arosa Casino in Switzerland.
He has been awarded several international prizes, including the Compasso d'oro in 1979 and in 1982. He holds an honorary title from the Architectural League of New York as well as the title of "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres" from the French Republic.
His design has always been characterized by his strong interest in mixing different cultures and different forms of expression; he creates graphics, furniture, interiors, paintings and architectures and wrote several articles and books; he is also renowned as an enthusiastic member of jury in architectural competition for young designers, such as the DBEW competition in South Korea or the Braun prize. He also teaches at the University of Milan.
Currently he runs his own practice in Milan, the Atelier Mendini, together with his brother Francesco Mendini.
