The image
Alessandro Mendini - Cersaie 2001
I thought of a triumphal arch made of ceramic tiles. I felt that it could be rendered three-dimensional like the access gateway to the Bologna exhibition centre. I designed it to be multicoloured, entertaining, not rhetorical. I wanted to create something that would be attractive and accessible to a large audience, not strictly an exercise in architectural composition but something that would be suitable for the general public.
Alessandro Mendini, architect, was born in Milan in 1931.
He has directed the magazines "Casabella", "Modo" and "Domus". Monographs in various languages have been written on his work in general and specifically on that with Atelier Alchimia.
He is involved in creating objects, furniture, interiors, paintings, installations and architecture. He works with international companies such as Alessi, Philips, Swarovski, Swatch, and is a consultant in various industries, also in the Far East, to resolve their image and design problems.
He's an honorary member of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design based in Jerusalem. In 1979 and in 1981 he was awarded the "Compasso d'Oro" (Golden Compass) for design, and the "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres" in France and has received decoration from the Architectural League of New York. He has been professor of design at the "Hochschule für Angewandte Kunst" in Vienna.
His works can be found in various museums and private collections.
In 1989 he opened the "Atelier Mendini" in Milan with his brother Francesco, designing the Alessi building in Omegna, the little "Bicchieraia" theatre in Arezzo, the Alessi factories and the Forum Museum in Omegna, the restoration of a historical part of the "Termini" Railway Station in Rome, a tower in Hiroshima in Japan, the Groningen Museum in Holland, the Arosa Casino in Arosa, a District in Lugano in Switzerland, two underground stations and the restoration of "Villa Comunale" in Naples as well as other buildings in Europe.
