Giovanni "Gio" Ponti (
͡ʒo18 November 1891 – 16 September 1979) was an Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer, artist, teacher, writer and publisher.
During his career, which spanned six decades, Ponti built more than a hundred buildings in Italy and in the rest of the world. He designed a considerable number of decorative art and design objects as well as furniture. Thanks to the magazine ''
Domus'', which he founded in 1928 and directed almost all his life, and thanks to his active participation in exhibitions such as the
Milan Triennial
The ''Milan Triennial'' (Triennale di Milano) is an art and design exhibition that takes place every three years at the Triennale di Milano Museum in Milan, Italy.
History
The exhibition was originally established in 1923 as a biennial architect ...
, he was also an enthusiastic advocate of an Italian-style art of living and a major player in the renewal of
Italian design
Italian design refers to all forms of design in Italy, including interior design, urban design, fashion design and architectural design. Italy is recognized as being a worldwide trendsetter and leader in design: the architect Luigi Caccia Dominio ...
after the Second World War. From 1936 to 1961, he taught at the
Milan Polytechnic School and trained several generations of designers. Ponti also contributed to the creation in 1954 of one of the most important design awards: the
Compasso d'Oro prize. Ponti died on 16 September 1979.
His most famous works are the
Pirelli Tower, built from 1956 to 1960 in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
in collaboration with the engineer
Pier Luigi Nervi
Pier Luigi Nervi (21 June 1891 – 9 January 1979) was an Italian engineer and architect. He studied at the University of Bologna graduating in 1913. Nervi taught as a professor of engineering at Rome University from 1946 to 1961 and is known wor ...
, the Villa Planchart in
Caracas and the Superleggera chair, produced by
Cassina in 1957.
Early life and education
Ponti was born in Milan in 1891 to Enrico Ponti and Giovanna (Rigone). His studies were interrupted by his military service during World War I. He served as a Capitan in the Pontonier Corps (Corps of Engineers) from 1916 to 1918 and was awarded both the
Bronze Medal of Military Valor
The Bronze Medal of Military Valor ( it, Medaglia di bronzo al valor militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry.
It was established by Charles Albert of Sardinia on 26 March 1833, along with the higher ranking Gold and Silver Medals for Military ...
and the
Italian Military Cross.
Ponti graduated with a degree in architecture from the
Politecnico di Milano University in 1921. The same year, he married Giulia Vimercati, with whom he had four children, Lisa, Giovanna, Letizia, and Giulio, and eight grandchildren.
Architecture and interior design
Ponti began his architectural career in partnership with
Mino Fiocchi and
Emilio Lancia from 1923 through 1927, and then through 1933 with Lancia only, as ''Studio Ponti e Lancia PL''. In these years he was influenced by and associated with the Milanese neoclassical
Novecento Italiano movement. In 1925, Ponti participated in the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, with the porcelain manufacturer. On this occasion, he made friends with Tony Bouilhet, director of the silversmith company
Christofle. The family Bouilhet who entrusted him with his first architectural commission abroad, with the construction of the Ange Volant (1926–1928, in collaboration with
Emilio Lancia and
Tomaso Buzzi), a country house located on the edge of the Saint-Cloud golf course, on the outskirts of Paris. As he built his first building in Milan, via Randaccio (1925–1926), the Ange Volant was an opportunity for Ponti to experiment with his personal conception of the Italian-style house, the principles of which he gathered in his book ''La Casa all'Italiana'' published in 1933. Other outputs of the time include the 1928 ''Monument to the Fallen'' with the Novecento architects
Giovanni Muzio
Giovanni Muzio (12 February 1893 – 21 May 1982) was an Italian architect. Muzio was born and died in Milan. He was closely associated with the Novecento Italiano artists group.
Biography
The son of Virginio Muzio, an accomplished archi ...
,
Tomaso Buzzi,
Ottavio Cabiati, Emilio Lancia and
Alberto Alpago Novello
The 1930s were years of intense activity for Ponti. He was involved in many projects, particularly in his native city of
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. With the construction of the Borletti funeral chapel in 1931, he started to adopt a modernist shift. By removing all ornament, Ponti moved towards formal simplification where he sought to make style and structure coincide. The ten "case tipiche" (typical houses), built in Milan between 1931 and 1938, were also close to Rationalist Modernism while retaining features of Mediterranean houses like balconies, terraces, loggias and pergolas. Spacious, equipped and built with modern materials, they met the requirements of the new Milanese bourgeoisie. The construction of the Rasini building (1933–1936) with its flat roofs marked the end of his partnership with Emilio Lancia around 1933. He then joined forces with engineers
Antonio Fornaroli and
Eugenio Soncini to form Studio Ponti-Fornaroli-Soncini which lasted until 1945.
Still in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, the Littoria Tower (now
Branca Tower), topped by a panoramic restaurant, was built in 1933 on the occasion of the
Fifth Triennial of Decorative Arts, which inaugurated its new headquarters built by
Giovanni Muzio
Giovanni Muzio (12 February 1893 – 21 May 1982) was an Italian architect. Muzio was born and died in Milan. He was closely associated with the Novecento Italiano artists group.
Biography
The son of Virginio Muzio, an accomplished archi ...
. With the first office building of the
Montecatini chemical group (1935–1938), for which he used the latest techniques and materials produced by the firm, in order to reflect the company's avant-garde spirit, Ponti designed, on an unprecedented scale (the offices housed 1,500 workstations), a building in every detail, from architecture to furniture.
Ponti is also involved in the project to expand the new university campus in Rome, led by the urban planner
Marcello Piacentini
Marcello Piacentini (8 December 1881 – 19 May 1960) was an Italian urban theorist and one of the main proponents of Italian Fascist architecture.
Biography
Born in Rome, he was the son of architect Pio Piacentini. When he was only 26, he was ...
by designing the School of Mathematics school, inaugurated in 1935. Ponti chose bright and functional spaces with simple lines, including a fan-shaped building that housed three amphitheaters. From 1934 to 1942, he worked at the
University of Padua
The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...
, with the construction and interior design of the new Faculty of Arts, Il Liviano (1934–1940), then the artistic direction and interior design of the Aula Magna, the basilica and the rectorate of the Palazzo Bo.
In the late 1930s, Ponti deepened his research on Mediterranean housing by collaborating with writer and architect
Bernard Rudofsky
Bernard Rudofsky (April 19, 1905 - March 12, 1988) was an Austrian American writer, architect, collector, teacher, designer, and social historian. His most notable work is '' Architecture Without Architects: A Short Introduction to Non-pedigreed A ...
. Together, they imagined in 1938 the ''Albergo nel bosco'' on the island of
Capri, a hotel designed as a village of house-bedrooms, all unique and scattered in the landscape.
At the turn of the 1940s, architectural projects continued initially for Ponti, with the construction of the Columbus Clinic (1939–1949) in Milan, and the interior design of the
Palazzo del Bo at the
University of Padua
The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...
where he carried out a monumental fresco on the stairs leading to the rectorate.
From 1943, due to the Second World War, his activity as an architect slowed down. This period corresponded to a period of reflection in which Ponti devoted himself to writing and designing sets and costumes for theatre and opera, such as
Igor Stravinsky's ''
Pulcinella
Pulcinella (; nap, Pulecenella) is a classical character that originated in of the 17th century and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry. Pulcinella's versatility in status and attitude has captivated audiences worldwide and kept t ...
'' for the Triennial Theatre in 1940, or
Christoph Willibald Gluck's ''
Orfeo ed Euridice'' for the Milan Scala in 1947. He also planned a film adaptation of
Luigi Pirandello's ''Enrico IV'' for
Louis Jouvet and
Anton Giulio Bragaglia __NOTOC__
Anton Giulio Bragaglia (11 February 1890 – 15 July 1960) was a pioneer in Italian Futurist
Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty ...
.
After World War 2, with the emergence of the Italian economic boom, the 1950s were a busy time for Ponti, who traveled abroad. He participated in the redevelopment and interior design of several Italian liners (
Conte Grande et
Conte Biancamano, 1949,
Andrea Doria
Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; lij, Drîa Döia ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was a Genoese statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime.
As the ruler of Genoa, Doria reformed the Re ...
and Giulio Cesare, 1950, Oceania, 1951), showcases the know-how of his country. Construction continued in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. In 1952, he created a new agency with
Antonio Fornaroli and his son-in-law
Alberto Rosselli. This vast hangar was designed as an architecture laboratory, an exhibition space and a space for the presentation of studies and models. After the death of Rosselli, he continued to work with his longtime partner Fornaroli. A block away, in via Dezza, Ponti built a nine-story apartment building, which housed his family. From 1950 to 1955, he was also in charge of the urban planning project for the Harar-Dessiè social housing district in Milan with architects
Luigi Figini and
Gino Pollini. For this complex, he designed two buildings with highly colored profiles, one of which was designed in collaboration with the architect Gigi Gho.
With the help of engineer
Pier Luigi Nervi
Pier Luigi Nervi (21 June 1891 – 9 January 1979) was an Italian engineer and architect. He studied at the University of Bologna graduating in 1913. Nervi taught as a professor of engineering at Rome University from 1946 to 1961 and is known wor ...
, a concrete specialist who advised him on the structure, he built with his studio and Arturo Danusso the
Pirelli tower (1956–1960). Facing Milan's main station, this 31-story, skyscraper housed the headquarters of Pirelli, a company specializing in tyres and rubber products. At the time of its inauguration, and for a few months, it was the tallest building in Europe. Together with the
Galfa Tower by
Melchiorre Bega (1956–1959) and the
Velasca Tower (1955–1961) of the BBPR Group, this skyscraper changed Milan's landscape. From 1953 to 1957, he built the ''Hotel della Città et de la Ville'' and the ''Centro Studi Fondazione Livio e Maria Garzanti'', in
Forlì (Italy), by the assignment of Aldo Garzanti, a famous Italian publisher.
In the 1950s, and thanks to his role in the Domus Magazine, Ponti was internationally known and commissions were multiplying, with constructions in Venezuela, Sweden, Iraq and projects in Brazil.
In New York City, he set up the
Alitalia
Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., operating as Alitalia (), was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. The ai ...
airline agency (1958) on
Fifth Avenue and was entrusted with the construction of the 250-seat auditorium of the
Time-Life building
1271 Avenue of the Americas is a 48-story skyscraper on Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas), between 50th and 51st Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by architect Wallace Harrison of Harrison, Ab ...
(1959).
In
Caracas, Ponti had freedom to accomplish one of his masterpieces: the
Villa Planchart (1953–1957), a house designed as a work of art on the heights of the capital, immersed in a tropical garden. Conceived as large-scale abstract sculpture, it can be seen from the inside as an uninterrupted sequence of points of view where light and color prevail. Outside, the walls were like suspended screens that defined the space of the house. At night, a lighting system highlighted its contours. All the materials and the furniture, chosen or designed by Ponti, were shipped from Italy. The overall effect has been noted for its "lightness": "the Villa Planchard sits so lightly on the hillside above Caracas that it is known as the 'butterfly house.'" A few miles away, Ponti designed for Blanca Arreaza, the Diamantina (1954–1956), so-called because of the diamond-shaped tiles that partially cover its facade. This villa has since been destroyed.
In the field of interior design, Ponti multiplied inventions and favoured multifunctional solutions; In 1951, he developed an ideal hotel room for the Milan Triennial, in which he presented a "dashboard" bed headboard composed of shelves, some of which were mobile, and control buttons for electricity or radio. He then applied this solution to domestic spaces and offices, with "organised walls". Next came the "fitted windows", for the manufacturer Altamira in particular and that he used for his apartment via Dezza.
With its vertical and horizontal frames through which shelves, bookcases and frames can be arranged, the "fitted window" became the fourth transparent wall of a room and ensured a transition between the inside and the outside.
The 1960s and 1970s were dominated by international architectural projects in places like
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
,
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
and Hong Kong, where Ponti developed new architectural solutions: the façades of his buildings became lighter and seemed to be detached like suspended screens. With the church of San Francesco al Fopponino in Milan (1961–1964), he created his first façade with perforated hexagonal openings. The sky and light became important protagonists of his architecture. This theatricality was reinforced by the omnipresence of ceramics, whose uses he reinvented both indoors and outdoors. In collaboration with the Milanese firm Ceramica Joo, he created diamond-shaped tiles with which he covered most of his facades (Villa Arreaza in Caracas, 1954–1956, Villa Nemazee in Tehran, 1957–1964, Shui Hing department store in Hong Kong, 1963, San Carlo Borromeo Hospital Church, 1964–1967 and Montedoria building, 1964–1970 in Milan). With Ceramica D'Agostino, he designed tiles with blue and white or green and white motifs that once combined create different more than a hundred motifs. They were used for the interior decoration of the hotels Parco dei Principi in
Sorrento
Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana ra ...
(1960) and in Rome (1961-1964). The Hotel Parco dei Principi in Sorrento was one of the first design hotel in Italy. Ponti also offered to ''Domus'' readers detailed plans of a circular house called Il scarabeo sotto la foglia (1964– The beetle under a leaf). This small oval building was covered with white and green ceramic tiles, both inside and outside, including the roof. Its envelope reflected the surrounding landscape and blended into it, like the shell of a beetle. In 1966, collector Giobatta Meneguzzo built his version of the beetle under a leaf in the province of Vicenza and entrusted the Italian designer
Nanda Vigo for the interior design. With the
Bijenkorf department store in
Eindhoven in the Netherlands (1966–1969), Ponti proposed another solution, by creating a tiled façade for an existing building. Modular, it was enlivened thanks to the non-uniform arrangement of its openings with various shapes. Lit from behind, the facade turned into a bright screen at night. Facing the building, Ponti designed a living square where the inhabitants could meet and rest on sculptures built for this purpose. Ponti also deepened his reflection on the skyscraper with a project of triangular and coloured towers (1967–1969).
In the last years of his life, Ponti was more than ever in search of transparency and lightness. He saw his facades as folded and perforated sheets of paper with geometric shapes. The 1970s began with the inauguration in 1970 of the Taranto Cathedral, a white rectangular building topped with a huge concrete facade perforated with openings, such that it is referred to locally as "the sail." In 1971, he participated in the construction of the Denver Art Museum in Colorado, taking care of the building's exterior envelope. He also submitted in 1971 a project for the future Centre Georges-Pompidou in Paris by proposing to model an axis in the capital linking the Baltard pavilions in les Halles pavilions to the future modern art museum thanks to an art "garden".
Paolo Monti
Paolo Monti (11 August 1908 – 29 November 1982) was an Italian photographer, known for his architectural photography.
In his early period, Monti experimented with abstractionism as well as with effects such as blurring and diffraction. In 19 ...
, Milan (1956–1961), interior
File:Paolo Monti - Serie fotografica - BEIC 6363631.jpg, Harar quarter, Milan (1950)
File:Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6331377.jpg, RAS building, Milan (1956–1960)
In 1923, Ponti was appointed artistic director of Richard Ginori, one of Italy's leading porcelain manufacturers, based in Milan and Sesto Fiorentino, changing the company's whole output through the involvement of some of the main Italian artists of the time, including the sculptor
. He completely renewed the iconographic repertoire by freely revisiting the classical tradition. He also rationalized the production system of the pieces while maintaining their high quality of execution. The pieces were presented at the first decorative arts biennial in Monza in 1923. With his new designs, he won the great prize for ceramics in 1925 at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris. After this major success, Ponti played a major role in the modernisation of Italian decorative arts, especially thanks to his involvement in the Monza Biennials and the Milan Triennials. In the 1920s, Ponti began numerous collaborations, notably with the silverware company Christofle, the glassmakers Venini and Fontana Arte. He also founded the Labirinto group, with
, among others. The Labirinto unique piece furniture was made of luxurious materials; at the same time, he designed ''Domus Nova'' with Emilio Lancia, a furniture collection with simple lines that was produced in series and sold by the Milanese department store La Rinascente.
In the 1930s, while Ponti continued to design unique pieces of furniture for specific interiors, and encouraged the promotion of quality series production. In 1930, he designed furniture and lighting for the glassmaker Fontana and became in 1933, together with Pietro Chiesa, the artistic director of the branch
. He created in particular a cylindrical lamp surrounded by crystal discs and mirrors and the famous Bilia Lamp.
In the 1940s and early 1950s, Ponti turned to unique creations showcasing the skills of exceptional craftsmen. With the artist and enameller
, they created enamelled panels and brightly colored furniture. In 1956, they imagined an imaginary and colorful bestiary, light decorative objects such as cut and folded paper. Other collaborations were established, in particular with the Dal Monte brothers, who specialised in the production of papier-mâché objects, the ceramist
. From 1946 to 1950, he designed many objects for this glassmaker: bottles, chandeliers, including a multicoloured chandelier. The bottles evoke stylized female bodies.
. This fruitful collaboration, during which they designed furniture and many interiors where ornament and fantasy prevailed (
– 1950, etc.), spanned two decades.
At the turn of the 1950s, Ponti deployed a prolific creation where he sought to combine aesthetic and functional requirements: the espresso machine for La Pavoni in 1948 and the Visetta sewing machine for Visa (1949), textiles for JSA, door handles for Olivari, a range of sanitary facilities for
, lighting for Arredoluce and furniture for the Swedish department store Nordiska Kompaniet.
, the Leggera and Superleggera (superlight) chairs, the Distex, Round, Lotus and Mariposa chairs are now among the classics of Italian design.
, and still produced today, was put on the market. Starting from the traditional chair model, originating from the village of Chiavari in Liguria, Ponti eliminated all unnecessary weight and material and assimilated the shape as much as possible to the structure, in order to obtain a modern silhouette weighing only 1.7 kg. the chair, which was very strong but also so light that it can be lifted by a child using just one finger.
Some of his furniture is now being reissued by Molteni&C. In the United States, he participated in the exhibition ''Italy at Work'' at the
adapted for production by designer Robert H. Ramp).
Many models also emerged in the 1960s, such as the Continuum rattan armchair for Pierantonio Bonacina (1963), wooden armchairs for
, the Novedra armchair for C&B (1968) or the Triposto stool for Tecno (1968). He invented lighting fixtures for Fontana Arte,
(1967), Lumi (1960), and Guzzini (1967), but also fabrics for JSA and a dinner service for Ceramica Franco Pozzi (1967).
In 1970, Ponti presented his concept of an adapted house (casa adatta) at Eurodomus 3 in Milan, where the house is centred around a spacious room with sliding partitions, around which the rooms and service areas gravitate. The space requirement for furniture and services was reduced to a minimum. The furniture also became flexible and space-saving in order to optimise space. The Gabriela chair (1971) with a reduced seat, as well as the Apta furniture series (1970) for Walter Ponti, illustrated this new way of life.
Ponti continued to create wall and floor coverings whose graphic rendering becomes a work of art in itself. Foliage patterns were developed on tiles for Ceramica D'Agostino. Together with this manufacturer, he also produced geometrically decorated and coloured tiles to cover the floors of the Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper's headquarters in
in 1976. A similar process was used in 1978 to cover the facade of the Shui Hing department store in Singapore. Finally, that same year, his ultimate decorative and poetic shapes, a bestiary of folded silver leaves, were interpreted by the silversmith
. Ponti died on 16 September 1979.