Angelo Mangiarotti

Angelo Mangiarotti (1921-2012) was one of the great protagonists of Italian design of the twentieth century. Born in Milan, he was one of the founding members of the Association for Industrial Design (ADI), from which he was awarded a Compasso d'Oro for his career in 1994. He has carried on in parallel throughout his life the activity of architect and designer and that of teacher, teaching in some of the most prestigious universities in the world. His career as an architect began with a short but intense experience in the United States, where he got to know some of the world's leading architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Walter Gropius. Back in Italy, he worked for a few years in collaboration with Bruno Morassutti, signing popular projects such as the Casa a Tre Cilindri in the San Siro district in Milan. In addition to housing, Mangiarotti specialized in infrastructure architecture: many of the most important city stations in Milan bear his signature, such as those of Rogoredo and Porta Venezia. His main field, however, remains that of design, where he stands out for his great attention to the use of materials and functionality. He was a great lover of sculpture and art who had a strong influence in his creations, made for brands such as Artemide, Vistosi, Danese Milano and Skipper. Re-editions of his products appear today in the catalogs of brands such as Poltrona Frau and Karakter, while his most emblematic creations are re-proposed by Agape for the Agapecasa line.