Designer

Alessandro Mendini

Alessandro Mendini is an architect, designer and artist, born in Milan in 1931.

He graduated in Architecture in 1959, and his first place of employment was Studio Nizzoli Associati. In the seventies, Mendini participated in many of the radical design experiences arising at the time. In 1973 he was one of the founding members of Global Tools, a group that was part of the anti-design movement, strongly opposed to tradition. In 1979 he joined Studio Alchimia, which aimed to create objects with references to popular culture and kitsch, outside the bounds of industrial production, and of their own functionality.

Together with his brother Francesco, in 1989 he opened Atelier Mendini in Milan, creating objects, furniture, spaces, paintings, installations and architecture. He works with international companies including Magis, Alessi, Philips, Cartier, Bisazza, Swatch, Hermès and Venini, and is a consultant for various industrial companies, as far away as eastern Asia, helping them solve their image and design difficulties.

In 2014 he was awarded his third Compasso d’Oro for his lifetime achievements, the European Prize for Architecture 2014 in Chicago, and an honorary degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, Poland.