Angelo Mangiarotti was born in Milan on February 26th, 1921, and graduated with a degree in Architecture from the renowned Politecnico di Milano. That same year, he took the opportunity to assist the preparation of the VIII Triennale, effectively introducing him to the vibrant Milanese atmosphere of the design world. He later moved to the United States as a visiting professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he met Frank Lloyd Wright and Walter Gropius, building important relationships for the definition of his personal style.

Angelo Mangiarotti, Architect

Back in Italy, in 1955, he embarked on a five-year partnership opening a studio with his colleague and friend Bruno Morassutti. During this period, Mangiarotti took his first steps in the architectural landscape of Milan. From those days comes the famous "Casa a tre cilindri" in the San Siro district, a fine example of architecture perfectly blended with urban planning and the renovation process. The studio expanded on this innovative approach to structural research with the design of an apartment complex in Via Quadronno, and later with the commission of the new Quartiere Feltre, a joint effort with a group of acclaimed Milanese architects.

His architectural vision deeply reflected in these early works: Mangiarotti viewed the discipline as a form of functional art, an artisanal process that had to prioritize functionality and intellectual rigor. This perspective extended to his opinion of industrial design, which he approached with the same care as a craftsman and the precision of an urbanist.

As a restless innovator, Mangiarotti rarely remained in one environment for long. After his experience with Morassutti, he ventured into the automotive sector, working first as a consultant with Alfa Romeo and later as a product designer. He collaborated closely with engineers who encouraged and fueled his passion for material research. While he never lost sight of his calling as an architect, these experiences contributed to the expansion of his activities into product design. He became one of the founding members of ADI, the first Italian association for industrial design, which remains active to this day.

Angelo Mangiarotti, Product Designer

Angelo Mangiarotti's activity as an architect proceeded parallel to his career as a product designer and lecturer. During the 1960s, after receiving the chair of Industrial Design at the University of Venice, he delved deeply into materic research, a topic that had always fascinated him and for which he would become internationally recognized. Starting with explorations using marble, glass and wood, he designed a number of iconic industrial products such as the glass blown Lesbo and Saffo lamps for Artemide, and later the renowned Eros and Eccentrico tables in fine Carrara Marble for Agape. His armchair IN 301, created for Zanotta, is considered one of the most iconic designs of all time, and is now part of the permanent collection of the Triennale di Milano.

His peculiar approach has been described as fitting many different design movements, from the influences of the technology-driven Modern Movement to the strictness and severity of rigorous functionalism. While it's true that his many ventures have definitely been inspired by these guidelines, Mangiarotti developed such a personal method that labelling him as a rigid exponent of a single current would not do justice to his almost ingenuous method of conceiving new ideas and turning them into trends themselves.

His experimentations continued well into the 1980s and 1990s, where his partnership with Cristalleria ColleVilca gave him the opportunity of working with one of the oldest crystal workshops in Italy, for whom he created a collection of sculptural glasses and pitchers with his signature fluid lines and exceptional craftsmanship.

For Galleria Fatto ad Arte, he designed exceptional bowls and vases with prized alabaster from Volterra: these pieces, with hollowed-out sections and circular shapes, are considered a masterful example of the marriage between artisanal tradition and innovative design.

Soon, it was clear to design experts that this continuous process of research and experimentation was not guided solely by a desire of disrupting the status quo of design and architecture: Mangiarotti's groundbreaking techniques were guided by an excellent know-how that he shared with engineers and production experts. The meticulous studies on form and shape were executed while never losing sight of true beauty and aesthetics, creating timeless pieces that would sustain the test of time.

Angelo Mangiarotti is also remembered for his long-lasting passion for sculpture, a natural consequence of his interest in materials and further detachment from functionality. His sculptures, created with the intention of adorning some of his buildings and to be showcased in town squares, were conceived inspired by the relationship of dynamism, by the duality of full and empty spaces. Today, some of them can still be admired in public places, such as the stunning "Massacro a Sant'Anna" near Lucca, in Tuscany, and the stone composition "Cinque stele dialogano alle Cinque Terre" in the Liguria Region.

During the decades that spanned his career, Angelo Mangiarotti was able to immensely shape and influence the fields of architecture and industrial design: from his commission of the Feltre District in Milan and the buildings in the central Via Quadronna, to his steps towards the famed Italian automotive sector, up until his avant-garde product designs and tableware pieces: a true example of creativity, innovation and continuous research that continues to inspire today's masters.