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Celebrated Italian design and automotive magnate Paolo Pininfarina passes away aged 65

2024-04-09T19:07:00-04:00

Paolo Pininfarina, the Italian business leader credited with expanding his family’s automotive enterprise into architecture and other areas of the design field, has died in Turin at the age of 65. The Pininfarina Chairman was known as a visionary who designed more than 600 cars after completing his engineering studies at the Polytechnic University in his home city.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Board of Statutory Auditors, and all Pininfarina employees, I express deep sorrow and condolences for the loss of our dear Chairman," Pininfarina's CEO, Silvio Angori, said in a press release.

Light Towers by Pininfarina in Mérida, Mexico. Image courtesy Pininfarina

"We are all extremely grateful to Eng. Pininfarina for his extraordinary contribution to the company and for always passionately advocating for our history and corporate identity both in terms of style and ethical and behavioral choices," his statement continued. "I am personally grateful to him for confirming me in th...

Beloved Italian designer and architect Gaetano Pesce passes away at 84

2024-04-04T18:05:00-04:00

Gaetano Pesce, the critically acclaimed Italian architect and designer of thought-provoking furniture, has passed away in New York City at the age of 84. He will be remembered for a groundbreaking career that spanned six decades and saw his many designs scattered across four continents and collected by major worldwide institutions, including MoMA, Vitra Design Museum, and Centre Pompidou.

After beginning his career as an industrial designer in Italy in the 1960s, the 2023 Andrée Putman Lifetime Achievement Award winner turned into one of the leading figures behind the Radical Design movement. His contributions included the Up5 chair he made for B&B Italia, the Moloch floor lamp, and other artistic pieces that commented on politics and society through its heyday until the end of the 1970s.

Up Chair series by Gaetano Pesce, 1969. Photo courtesy Créateurs Design Awards

He would later move to New York to teach at Pratt Institute in 1980, a position he held in addition to running a simul...

Umberto Riva has passed away in Italy at age 93

2021-07-01T12:48:00-04:00

Multiple news outlets are reporting that Umberto Riva has died in Italy at the age of 93.

The Italian architect was referred to as a maestro by his contemporaries who reacted to news of the passing of the architect and painter last week in Palermo.

Born to a Milanese family in 1928, Riva studied in Venice before eventually obtaining an apprenticeship in the office of Carlo Scarpa. Major works included the redevelopment of Piazza San Nazaro and the Biblioteca Europea, both in Milan; power plants in Campobasso and Termoli; a restored café in Padua; and several successful lamps for the Italian studio Tacchini.

Riva was widely known for a wide array of projects ranging from his stately private residences, well-lit interiors spaces, and designs for furniture that incorporated Riva’s sense of luminescence while communicating a simplicity of form reminiscent of his lifelong influence, Constantin Brâncuși.

“My work is constantly fostered and tested by my being in this world. Plus, there is...

Flexform showcases new sofa line designed by Italian architect Antonio Citterio

2019-11-18T06:01:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by FLEXFORM

The new Romeo sofa, designed by architect Antonio Citterio was launched at the this year's Salone del Mobile Milano. The Romeo sofa’s delicate lines, proportions and details — like the tapered cast aluminum feet and subtle grosgrain piping that outlines the stitching and emphasizes the aesthetically balanced shapes — attest to the company’s artisan expertise.

Thanks to the perfect inclination of the seat and the generously goose-down-filled cushions, the Romeo sofa is tangible proof of the company’s ability to wed understated elegance with the utmost in comfort.

Image courtesy of Flexform.

The simplicity of the Romeo sofa design is complemented by a variety of dimensions — in depth, width, and height — that highlight its versatility. Romeo is a sofa that fits easily in residential and business or hospitality settings. — Antonio Citterio

Romeo Sofa. Image courtesy of Flexform.

The Romeo seating system is also amazingly versatile, in that it can ...

Opening tomorrow, Milan will get its first permanent museum dedicated to Italian design

2019-04-08T17:04:00-04:00

When the Triennale Design Museum inaugurates its new permanent exhibition on April 9th, Italy will be getting a new museum dedicated to the country's best known works of design and architecture. Pulling from the Triennale's 1,600 piece collection, the exhibition will focus on the history of modern Italian design from 1946 to 1981 and will include iconic pieces such as Gio Ponti's Superleggera chair and Ettore Sottsass' "Carlton" Room Divider.

For Stefano Boeri, the President of Triennale Milano, the new museum is an opportunity to expand their permanent collection and revitalize the historic institution. It is the first stage of a broader long-term project "to make the institution an important international center devoted to this discipline," he says.