Vittoriano Viganò

Vittoriano Viganò (1919-1996) is an Italian architect famous above all as the greatest exponent of Brutalist architecture in Italy. Extensive use of exposed reinforced concrete, robust and severe volumes, rigid angular geometries: all the typical stylistic features of Brutalist architecture are perfectly synthesized in the Istituto Marchiondi in Baggio (1958), a work that allowed him to attract the attention of international critics and which is still considered one of the happiest outcomes of the Brutalist season. Having approached Brutalist architecture also for his interest in using poor materials, Viganò was not an uncritical interpreter of the trend and enriched it with many personal touches, such as a continuous (and partly paradoxical, given the materials used) search for lightness and a passion for the use of red and black tones. Many of his best-known works were created in Milan, his hometown: from the project for the development of Parco Sempione (1954-69) to the headquarters of the Faculty of Architecture at the Polytechnic (1970-85). Another of his key projects was the so-called Casa La Scala (1956-58), built in San Felice Benaco for his French friend André Bloc, director of the magazine “L'architecture d'aujourd'hui” for which Viganò was the correspondent from Italy for many years. His experience as a product designer is instead mainly concentrated in the long collaboration with the lighting brand Arteluce by Gino Sarfatti, for which he was the main technical-artistic consultant from 1947 to 1960 and for which he also designed the Milanese sales point (1962). His creations are now reissued by the Danish brand Astep, founded by Sarfatti's heirs and the ideal continuator of the Arteluce experience.