Stefano Casciani – författare

To study Gio Ponti’s prolific body of work is to appreciate the clear, unifying vision behind a complex creative universe. A synthesis of the arts, his creations unfold intuitively with the Italian grandeur and studied lightness that defined his iconic style. Ponti’s rare ability to move seamlessly between scales allowed him to approach the design of a teaspoon with the same conviction as that of an entire city. He was as much an architect and designer as he was a publisher, poet, and man. A treasure in its own regard, his legacy endures as a landmark of Italy’s mid-century Renaissance and the modernist ideals it sought to realize.Compact yet comprehensive, this volume traces the evolution of Ponti’s oeuvre over six decades, presenting more than sixty projects reproduced in high resolution—each framed by the context in which it was conceived. Like windows onto his elusive life, unpublished materials and candid imagery reveal new dialogues between his celebrated masterpieces and lesser-known works. The book features writings by Lisa Licitra Ponti and an extensive biographical essay by Stefano Casciani. Conceived in close collaboration with Ponti’s grandson, Salvatore Licitra, founder of the Gio Ponti Archives, it offers an intimate and authentic perspective on the architect’s life and work. Embodying Ponti’s philosophy of modernity, the book presents architecture as a performing object—a self-illuminating stage for his humanistic art de vivre and boundless creativity.

The first complete monograph on the provocative work of influential Italian designer, architect, and critic Alessandro MendiniBorn in Milan in 1931, Alessandro Mendini created vivid, boundary-pushing, eccentric work that sits in an aesthetic universe of its own. He was at the heart of Italy’s Radical design movement in the 1960s and 1970s and, later, Postmodernism, championing a sensitive and intellectual approach to design; he edited Domus magazine in the early 1980s; and he collaborated with brands ranging from Alessi, Swarovski, and Hermès to Supreme. Along with his contemporaries Ettore Sottsass and Gaetano Pesce, Mendini helped to redefine the concept of Italian design and architecture.This comprehensive monograph – the first on Mendini’s complete portfolio of work – features a wealth of previously unpublished documents and images. Written by critic Stefano Casciani, who worked with Mendini for many years, the book offers a uniquely personal account illustrated by photographs, ephemera, and many of Mendini’s idiosyncratic and playful sketches.Presented in a dynamic package inspired by Mendini’s distinctive aesthetic, the book is a design object in its own right, with a pink cloth cover featuring one of Mendini’s iconic magazine covers on the front, a sketch of his famous Proost chair on the back, and die-cut laminated tip-in chapter openers with wavy edges.

Also available as Art Edition (No. 1–1,000) including an exclusive, square format reproduction of the Arlecchino coffee table and a set of four numbered ocean liner interior prints. To study Gio Ponti’s prolific body of work is to appreciate the clear, unifying vision behind a complex creative universe. A synthesis of the arts, his creations expand intuitively with the Italian grandeur and studied lightness that defined his iconic style. Ponti’s rare capacity to move seamlessly between scales allowed him to approach the design of a teaspoon with the same conviction as he did an entire city. He was as much an architect and designer as he was a publisher, poet, and man. A treasure in its own regard, his contribution is also a distinctive landmark of Italy’s mid-century Renaissance and the modernist values it sought to realize. This is the most comprehensive account of Ponti’s work to date, unprecedented in scale and scope. It tracks the development of his oeuvre over 6 decades, with 136 projects indexed and reproduced in high resolution, each object framed by the context in which Ponti had created it. Like windows onto his elusive life, unpublished materials and candid imagery create new dialogues between his famous masterpieces and his lesser-known feats. A rich layer of texts, featuring an extensive biographical essay by Stefano Casciani, was produced in close collaboration with the Gio Ponti Archives offering an intimate insight on his life’s work. Materializing Ponti’s core philosophy of modernity, this book presents architecture as a performing object, a "self-illuminating" stage for his humanistic art de vivre and boundless creativity.

Labics, based in Rome, is a leader among Italy's up-and-coming architecture firms and has gained great international acclaim for submissions to competitions and a number of realised projects. This first-ever monograph on Labic's fast growing, impressive body of work features some twenty of their designs, representing the entire range of the firm's achievements. The selection comprises housing and office buildings, museums and cultural centres, schools, public spaces, and subway stations, located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Iran, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, and the UK. All are documented with atmospheric photographs and a wealth of plans and diagrams to illustrate the concept and many details of each project.Structure, in a variety of notions of the term, is guiding Labic's approach. Consequently, the book is arranged in five chapters exploring geometric, bearing, circulation, public space, and urban and territorial structures in topical essays. This provides the frame for the featured projects, all of which exemplify the importance of the respective type of structure for Labic's work.