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Gae Aulenti

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Gae Aulenti
Aulenti in 1986
Born
Gaetana Emilia Aulenti

(1927-12-04)4 December 1927
Palazzolo dello Stella, Italy
Died31 October 2012(2012-10-31) (aged 84)
Milan, Italy
Known forArchitectural design
MovementModernism

Gaetana "Gae" Emilia Aulenti (pronounced [ˈɡaːe auˈlɛnti]; 4 December 1927 – 31 October 2012) was an Italian architect and designer based in Milan. Aulenti was one of the few prominent female architects in post-war Italy.[1][2] Her work advanced a variety of fields in architecture and design. One of her major works was designing the interior of the Musée d'Orsay, completed in 1986. In 1987, Aulenti was awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d' Honneur and in 1995, the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.[3][4][5]

Aulenti was a proponent of modernism.[6] However, in her time working under the editor-in-chief, Ernesto Nathan Rogers (1909–1969), at Casabella-Continuità, a quarterly architecture magazine, she was involved in the neo-liberty movement. This was a controversial and short-lived reflection on modernism, which argued for an ongoing place for tradition and history, for valuing artistic merit and for freedom of design within the modern aesthetic.[7][8]

Aulenti's philosophy was that any one trending aesthetic, including modernism, should not be pursued at all costs. That is, she advocated for an holistic approach to architectural design. She believed that a project could not proceed without a deep understanding of the foundation the building in its historical era, its place in the art of a city and its functionality, all combining effortlessly to create a dynamic yet serene space for the people.[9][10]

Through her decades long career, Aulenti used her architecture and design skills in different professional forums ranging from, for example, furniture design to major architectural transformation.[1] She lauded for her artistic yet intellectual stance, determination, combining of history and innovation and deep knowledge of architecture, materials, light, design history and trends and her ability to define a space for both experience and utility.[11][12][9]

Early life and education

[edit]
A panorama of a northern Italian town
Biella

Aulenti, was born in Palazzolo dello Stella in the Friuli region in the northeast region of Italy to Aldo Aulenti, an accountant and his wife, a school teacher. The Aulenti family, with origins in Calabria and Apulia, included doctors, lawyers and clergy.[13][14]

When Aulenti was a child, her family moved to Biella, in the Piedmont region in northern Italy. From 13 to 18 years of age, Aulenti lived under the Nazi occupation of Northern Italy during World War II. During the war, Aulenti continued her education in Turin and Florence.[15] Her views were influenced by those of the partisans (partigiani).[14]

In 1953, Aulenti completed a diploma in architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan. She was one of two women in the class of 20 students.[16][17] In 1954, Aulenti opened her design studio in Milan.[18][19]

Career

[edit]

Industrial design

[edit]
Pipstrello lamp designed for Martinelli Luce (1965)
An outdoor furniture set in orange, red and white circular geometric design
"Locus solus" garden set for Poltronova, 1964

One of Aulenti's early but lasting designs is the Pipistrello lamp (1965) The lamp was produced by Elio Martinelli, the founder of the Martinelli Luce lighting company, using methacrylate copolymer molding.[20]

In 1967 and 1968, Aulenti designed show rooms for Olivetti in Paris and Buenos Aires.[21]

Between 1968 and 1970, Aulenti designed exhibition spaces and showrooms in Turin, Zurich, and Brussels for the car manufacturer, Fiat. Aulenti collaborated with the Kartell furniture company who were experimenting with injection moulding.[22]

In 1968 in Boston, and in 1972 in New York, Aulenti collaborated with the American modern furniture design and manufacturing company, Knoll. The first production was the "jumbo table", a large Carrara marble piece. The second was a full furniture set presented as "The Aulenti Collection" in 1976. It included a lounge, side chairs and, high and low tables.[23] Aulenti also designed modern bathroom furniture for Ideal Standard.[24]

In 1988, Aulenti collaborated with the French fashion house, Louis Vuitton, to design an iconic watch with matching pen and silk scarf. The design is known as the "Monterey" II.[25]

Aulenti's other clients included the department store, La Rinascente for whom she created the "Tau" coffee table in steel and glass in the late 1970s. For the furniture company, Zanotta, Aulenti created the "April" folding chair which was made from stainless steel with a removable cover and the "SanMarco" table constructed from plate-glass.[26][27]

Architectural design

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Musée d'Orsay

[edit]
Gare d'Orsay
Musée d'Orsay

The Gare d'Orsay (Orsay railway station) was built in 1900 in the neo-classical style. The stone exterior was designed to blend in with surrounding 19th century buildings. By 1939, the station's rail technology was outdated and the station was limited to local trains.[28] In the 1960s, plans were made to demolish the station but in 1971, Georges Pompidou (then president of France) intervened and in 1973, the station was made a national monument.[28]

In 1980, the French government engaged the architectural firm, ACT to redesign the station building for use as a new museum, the Musée d'Orsay, which would house art works created between 1848 and 1914. Aulenti was selected winner of a competition to complete the new museum's interior design. However, discord between ACT and the curators led Aulenti to have a role in both the architectural plan and the understanding of the vision and requirements of the curators.[28][29]

Aulenti succeeding in arguing for alterations to the ACT design, which the curators felt was excessively beholden to the neo-classical style and overly ornate. Aulenti said,

I viewed the station as a place, a terrain where I could put a new architecture in place. The station was, of course, a historical monument, but it does not deserve all the respect given it when it is said that it is a perfect, original, and coherent expression of a past that we must revere. Orsay is basically a box.[28]

Aulenti's design invites visitors' movement along the long axis of the building as though it were a nave with galleries on either side. She uses limestone of varying shades throughout, blended it over the surfaces of a long ramp, platforms and at one end, two towers. The interior is lit by both natural and artificial light.[29]

The new museum opened to the public on 9 December 1986.[30] Critical opinion of the success of Aulenti's design has varied in degree and over time.[31][32][28]

Centre Georges Pompidou

[edit]
Interior Centre Georges Pompidou, 2008

The Centre Pompidou was built between 1972 and 1977 to a plan by architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. It was designed with wide open indoor spaces to provide flexibility to host a range of cultural installations and events.[33] It is a ten level building constructed of glass and metal and houses the collection of the Musée National d'Art Moderne.[34]

Aulenti was commissioned to redesign the main fourth floor to decrease the amount of natural light striking the art works which increased their rate of degradation.[35] She was also asked to provide smaller permanent galleries. Aulenti created galleries of varying sizes, arranged in a chronological order, along a building-length, unobstructed corridor gallery set beside the west windows. She installed shelves, alcoves and pedestals ready for the curators' use. She also created some small linking corridors between galleries for additional works, small collections and works, for example fragile documents, requiring low light exposure.[36][33][37]

Palazzo Grassi

[edit]
Palazzo Grassi, Venice

The Palazzo Grassi is a mansion on the Grand Canal in Venice. It was built in the 16th century and has since had many owners and undergone many changes. Aulenti's involvement came in 1983 when the palazzo was owned by the Fiat group. Aulenti was commissioned to refurbish the palazzo as an art exhibition space.[38]

The building has two floors and an attic built around a central courtyard in a trapezoidal shape. In 1983, the building presented a dark, convoluted layout and no clear indication of what were original features.[39]

Aulenti searched for historical features of the original architect, Giorgio Massari (1687–1766) in contemporaneous buildings. The original masonry was repaired with salvaged 19th century bricks. New utilities were concealed but not placed inside the masonry so that the original components would not be disturbed. The floors and windows onto the courtyard were reinforced. Paint was applied in a palette of Aquamarine on pink marble patterned stucco (marmorino).[38]

The building was gutted and refurbished over a thirteen month period. It opened on 15 April 1985.[40]

Other selected projects

[edit]

Following the completion of the Musée d'Orsay in 1987, Aulenti's commissions (both in the public and the private sectors) had wide ranging and international scope. In 1991, after Aulenti received two major commissions. One was a conversion of a 17th century barn to a villa (Torrecchia Vecchia) in Lazio for Carlo Caracciolo (1925 - 2008), an Italian nobleman.[41] The other was the conversion of a former 18th century carriage house and stables (Scuderie del Quirinale), part of the Quirinal Palace in Rome, to a palace exhibition building for the 2000 Great Jubilee.[42] This was followed by the design of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona for presentation at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Aulenti designed the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco in 2003, the Italian cultural institute in Tokyo in 2005, the Palazzo Branciforte (Palermo cultural centre) in 2007 and the Perugia San Francesco d'Assisi (Umbria International Airport) for the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy in 2011.[43][44]

Stage and costume design

[edit]
Luca Ronconi, theatre director, who collaborated with Aulenti on several occasions, in 1959.

Aulenti began her theatre work in the late 1970s with Luca Ronconi at the Prato Theatre design workshop (1976–1979).[45] Aulenti's stage designs were highly architectural, evocative and innovative.[46] She makes design reference to the futurist Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's (1876–1994) work, A Manifesto of Variety Theatre (1913).[47] Her contribution moved stage design forward from a system relying on perspective effects of scenery canvas and flats.[11]

In 1984, Aulenti created on stage screens for the staging of Journey to Reims, an opera by Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868). The opera was directed and produced by Aulenti's theatre associate, Luca Ronconi in Pesaro at the Rossini Opera Festival. In this work, video operators filmed the performers then, in real time, projected the recordings onto Aulenti's screens. The videos included close ups of the singers (so that even the back row audience might be more involved in the experience). They also included videos of a royal procession previous filmed live on the street. This video led directly to the performers entering in procession onto the stage. This was notable in its time.[48]

Other stage designs by Aulenti include, The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) in Genoa and Wozzeck by Alban Berg (1888–1935) in Milan, both in 1977, the premier of Samstag aus Licht by Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928–2007) in 1984 in Milan, and Elektra by Richard Strauss (1864–1949) in 1984 in Milan.

Exhibitions

[edit]

Aulenti designed exhibition spaces in Italy and abroad. These included, for example, Futurismo and Futurismi (1986), I Fenici (1988), I Celti (1991), I Greci in Occidente (1996) and ExhibitionsDa Puvis de Chavannes a Matisse e Picasso. Verso l'Arte Moderna (2002) at Palazzo Grassi.[49][15] At the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, in New York City, Aulenti designed the The Italian Metamorphosis 1943–1968 (1994).

The first comprehensive exhibition of Aulenti's own works was at Milan’s Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, in 1976, organised by fellow architect and friend, Vittorio Gregotti (1927 - 2020).[11]

Milan Triennial

[edit]

Aulenti had an association with the Milan Triennial over many years. She presented her own work, including an "ideal apartment for an urban location" at the La casa e la scuola exhibition at the 12th Triennial in 1960.[50] In 1964, she won the Grand International Prize for Arrivo al Mare. Her piece was a room with mirrored walls containing silhouette cut-outs of women. It was inspired by Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973).[3]

Aulenti was a member of the executive of the Triennial from 1977 to 1980. She designed spaces for installations at exhibitions such as the 1951–2001 Made in Italy? (2001).[51]

After Aulenti's death, the Milan Triennial and Archivio Gae Aulenti created an exhibition of her life and work. It is a sequence of rooms, true to size, and within, a display of Aulenti's papers. It continues to 12 January 2025.[51]

Professional affiliations

[edit]
Issues of Cassabella-Continuità magazine

From 1955 to 1965, Aulenti was a member of the editorial staff of the design magazine, Casabella-Continuità. Aulenti wrote two articles for Casabella. The first was Soviet architecture (1962) and the other was Marin County (1964).[3]

From 1954 to 1962, Aulenti was a member of the editorial staff of Lotus international, the quarterly Milanese architecture magazine.[8]

Aulenti was an assistant professor of architectural composition (1960–1962) at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, adjunct assistant professor of elements of architectural composition (1964) at Milan Polytechnic, and visiting lecturer at the College of Architecture, Barcelona and the Stockholm Cultural Centre (1969–1975).[8] She also taught at the Milan School of Architecture (1964–1967).[3]

Aulenti was a member of Movimento Studi per I'Architettura, Milan (1955–1961) and the Association for Industrial Design, Milan (1960 and vice-president in 1966).[3]

Death and legacy

[edit]
Plaque of dedication at the Piazza Gae Aulenti, Milan

On 31 October 2012, Aulenti died in at her home in Milan as a result of chronic illness.[52] Fifteen days prior, she had made her last public appearance, when she received the Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement at the Milan Triennial.[5]

Aulenti leaves a daughter and grandchildren.[53]

In December 2012, the Piazza Gae Aulenti was dedicated to her memory. A portion of Aulenti's papers, drawings, and designs, including the design drawings for the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California are curated at the International Archive of Women in Architecture in the Newman Library, at Virginia Tech.[54]

Awards

[edit]
  • Ubi Prize for Stage Design, Milan, (1980)[3]
  • Architecture Medal, Academie d' Architecture, Paris (1983)[3]
  • Josef Hoffmann Prize, Hochschule fur Angewandte Kunst, Vienna (1984)[3]
  • Commandeur, Order des Artes et Letters, France (1987)[3]
  • Honorary Dean of Architecture, Merchandise Mart of Chicago (1988)[3]
  • Accademico Nazionale, Accademia di San Luca, Rome (1988)[3]
  • Premio speciale della cultura, Repubblica italiana X Legislatura (1989)[55]
  • Praemium Imperiale (1991)[56]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Petranzan, Margherita (1996). Gae Aulenti. New York: Rizzoli. ISBN 0-8478-2059-9.
  2. ^ "Designing Modern Women 1890–1990 | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Hillstrom, Laurie Collier (1999). Contemporary Women Artists. USA: St. James Press. pp. 39. ISBN 1-55862-372-8.
  4. ^ "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana". Palazzo del Quirinale. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Hartman, Jan Cigliano (2022-03-29). The Women Who Changed Architecture. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-1-64896-086-4.
  6. ^ "Gae Aulenti (Italian: 1927 - 2012) - Designers - Ophir Gallery - Specializing in Tiffany Studios and Glass". www.ophirgallery.com. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  7. ^ Sabini, Maurizio (2021-02-11). Ernesto Nathan Rogers: The Modern Architect as Public Intellectual. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-350-11742-6.
  8. ^ a b c Emanuel, Muriel (2016-01-23). Contemporary Architects. Springer. ISBN 978-1-349-04184-8.
  9. ^ a b Colbachini, Francesco (2023-10-30). "Gae Aulenti: A Pioneer in Furniture Design". Italian Design Club. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  10. ^ Tiwari, Srajati (2021-09-09). "Gae Aulenti: Ideology and Philosophy". RTF | Rethinking The Future. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  11. ^ a b c Gregotti, Vittorio (1986-04-09). "BUILDING A PASSAGE". Artforum. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  12. ^ "Gae Aulenti: A Trailblazer of Modern Design". Hulmara. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  13. ^ Briganti, Annarita (2022-09-20). Gae Aulenti (in Italian). Cairo. ISBN 978-88-309-0275-6.
  14. ^ a b "Story Gae Aulenti". Storie Milanesi. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  15. ^ a b "Biografia | Archivio Gae Aulenti" (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  16. ^ Wainwright, Oliver (5 November 2012). "Gae Aulenti obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  17. ^ Martin, Douglas (2012-11-02). "Gae Aulenti, Musée d'Orsay Architect, Dies at 84". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  18. ^ "Gae Aulenti – Martinelli Luce Designers". martinelliluce.it. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  19. ^ "The Italian Designers Who Revolutionized the Industry". Mastermind. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  20. ^ "Pipistrello – Martinelli Luce Website". martinelliluce.it. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  21. ^ "Gae Aulenti and Olivetti". www.domusweb.it. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  22. ^ "Vitra Design Museum: Collection". collectiononline.design-museum.de. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  23. ^ "Gae Aulenti | Knoll". www.knoll.com. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  24. ^ "How Ideal Standard revolutionised the modern bathroom". uk.style.yahoo.com. 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  25. ^ "A Future Icon: The Louis Vuitton Monterey Deisgned By Gae Aulenti In 1988 – Italian Watch Spotter". 2023-03-06. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  26. ^ "Gae Aulenti (1927–2012)". Dezeen. 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  27. ^ "April". www.zanotta.com. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  28. ^ a b c d e Creating the MusŽe d'Orsay: The Politics of Culture in France. Penn State Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-271-03834-6.
  29. ^ a b "Musee D'Orsay, Paris". World Construction Network. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  30. ^ "Musée d'Orsay". museums.eu. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  31. ^ Ayers, Andrew (2004). The Architecture of Paris: An Architectural Guide. Edition Axel Menges. ISBN 978-3-930698-96-7.
  32. ^ modernist, tipsy (2023-09-11). "Gae Aulenti. Eccentric genius or provocateur?". modernism cocktails. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  33. ^ a b "Center Georges Pompidou, a 1985 project by Piero Castiglioni as a lighting designer". Marco Petrucci. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  34. ^ "Our building – Centre Pompidou". Centre Pompidou. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  35. ^ "Paris architectural masterpiece. Center Pompidou by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers | METALOCUS". www.metalocus.es. 2021-12-19. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  36. ^ Weston, Richard (2004). Plans, Sections and Elevations: Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century. Laurence King Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85669-382-0.
  37. ^ Green J. The Pompidou Centre (1995) National College of Art and Design - Textiles and Weave. Dublin pg19. https://thesis.ncad.ie/T1471_The Pompidou centre_NC00209236.pdf Accessed 30 August 2024.
  38. ^ a b "Palazzo Grassi. Art Destination Venice". universes.art. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  39. ^ "Neoclassicism in Venice: Grassi Palace, extraordinary museum, residence of a ghost". visitvenezia.eu. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  40. ^ Arduini C. Palazzo Grassi in Venice Maire Tecnimont Foundation. https://fondazione.groupmaire.com/media/filer_public/04/cd/04cd5ae4-893f-4d61-853f-bde3ac829fc1/palazzo-venice-min.pdf Accessed 30 August 2024
  41. ^ "Torrecchia Vecchia – English Gardens hidden in the Lazio". Torrecchia. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  42. ^ "Scuderie del Quirinale". Ales Arte Lavoro e Servizi S.p.A. (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  43. ^ "Palace". Palazzo Branciforte. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  44. ^ Internazionale, Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione. "Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Tokyo". iictokyo.esteri.it (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  45. ^ Woodham, Jonathan (2016-05-19). A Dictionary of Modern Design. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-251853-8.
  46. ^ Marrone, Gaetana; Puppa, Paolo (2006-12-26). Encyclopedia of Italian Literary Studies. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-45530-9.
  47. ^ Petranzan, Margherita (1996). Gae Aulenti. Rizzoli International Publications, INC. p. 223. ISBN 0-8478-2059-9.
  48. ^ Quazzolo, Paolo (2022-07-31). Rappresentazioni e tecniche della visione (in Italian). Marsilio Editori spa. ISBN 978-88-297-1691-3.
  49. ^ Quinn, Josephine Crawley; Vella, Nicholas C. (2014-12-04). The Punic Mediterranean: Identities and Identification from Phoenician Settlement to Roman Rule. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-19493-5.
  50. ^ Scrivano, Paolo (2017-05-15). Building Transatlantic Italy: Architectural Dialogues with Postwar America. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-17082-2.
  51. ^ a b "Gae Aulenti (1927–2012)". triennale.org. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  52. ^ Cascone, Sarah (2012-11-05). "Gae Aulenti Dies, Age 84". ARTnews. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  53. ^ admin (2016-05-28). "Gae Aulenti". Alain Elkann Interviews. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  54. ^ "A Guide to the Gae Aulenti Architectural Collection, 1987–2003 Aulenti, Gae, Architectural Collection Ms2000-014". ead.lib.virginia.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  55. ^ "Il presidente del consiglio Ciriaco De Mita assegna i Premio speciale della cultura - Auletta dei gruppi: 9 marzo 1989 / Archivio fotografico / Camera dei deputati - Portale storico". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  56. ^ "Gae Aulenti | The official website of the Praemium Imperiale". 高松宮殿下記念世界文化賞. Retrieved 2024-09-02.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Emmanuel, Muriel (1980). Contemporary Architects. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 53. ISBN 0-312-16635-4. NA680.C625.
  • Fiell, Charlotte; Fiell, Peter (2005). Design of the 20th Century (25th anniversary ed.). Köln: Taschen. pp. 74–75. ISBN 9783822840788. OCLC 809539744.
  • Peltason, Ruth A. (1991). 100 Contemporary Architects. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. p. 24. ISBN 0-8109-3661-5. NA2700.L26.
  • "Gae Aulenti". Design & Art. Archived from the original on 16 October 2011.
  • Davide Mosconi. "Design Italia '70" Milan 1970.
  • Nathan H. Shapira, "Design Processes Olivetti 1908–1978". Los Angeles, 1979.
  • Vittorio Gregotti, Emilio Battisti, Franco Quadri. "Gae Aulenti" exhibition catalog. Milan 1979.
  • Erica Brown, "Interior Views" London 1980
  • Eric Larrabee, Massimo Vignelli, "Knoll Design", New York 1981.
  • "Gae Autenti e il Museo d' Orsay" Milan 1987.
  • Arata Isozaki "International Design Yearbook 1988–89", London 1988.
  • Marc Gaillard, Oeil Magazine, November 1990.
  • Jeremy Myerson, "Grande Dame" article in Design Week, 14 October 1994.
  • "Pillow Talk" article in Design Week, 10 November 1995.
  • "Gae Aulenti : Weekend House for Mrs. Brion, San Michele, Italy, 1974." GA Houses, no. 171 (July 1, 2020): 67–69.
  • Rykwert, Joseph, 1926–. "Gae Aulenti’s Milan." Architectural Digest 47, no. 1 (January 1, 1990): 92–97.
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