Olivetti Builds: Modern Architecture in Ivrea

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

This book offers a critical interpretation of the rich, unique architectural patrimony of Ivrea, seat of Olivetti's headquarters, the most famous typewriter company in the world. A detailed catalogue of the open-air museum of modern architecture in Ivrea, the text reconstructs the events from the 'thirties to the 'fifties surrounding Adriano Olivetti and his relationship with architecture and urban planning. In the mid-thirties Adriano Olivetti began not only a renewal of industrial production, but also a long process of construction of the territory and its landscape. Beginning in 1945 Ivrea became a reference point not only for Italian intellectuals interested in constructing a new civil society, but also a mecca for architects and urban planners, who brought his ideas to life through their work. Architects such as Luigi Figini and Gino Pollini, Ignazio Gardella, Marco Zanuso, Eduardo Vittoria, Ettore Sottsass, Gino Valle, urban planners such as Giovanni Astengo, Carlo Doglio, Luigi Piccinato not only gave form to the community but also, through the individual works built in Ivrea, contributed to the complex Italian and international architectural debate.

Author Bio

Patrizia Bonifazio teaches history of contemporary architecture at the Politecnico of Turin, while Paolo Scrivano is a research fellow and professor of history of contemporary architecture at the Politecnico of Milan. He also edited Tra guerra e pace. Societa, cultura e architettura nel secondo dopoguerra (Milano, 1998), the new Italian edition of Lewis Mumford's The Culture of Cities (1970). They are both co-ordinators of the new architectural open-air museum of Ivrea.