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Dec 31,2006 - Jan7,2006 |
Changing their world by design
Castelli Ferrieri, Aulenti among notable female architects and designers
By Mark Curtis
Originally Published: 2006-05-14
Unlike the field of interior design, where women seem to by and large hold sway, the professions of architecture and industrial design have traditionally been dominated by men. Many women work in these fields, of course, but it seems many are overshadowed by the work of their male contemporaries. In the world of Italian architecture and design, there are some notable examples of female designers whose work ranks among the best in their respective fields.
Anna Castelli Ferrieri was one of the first women to earn an architecture degree from the Politecnico di Milano when she graduated from the school in 1943. With Italy in a state of post-war recovery, Castelli Ferrieri spent much of her early career working on urban planning and housing designs. She gained international renown in the 1960s, however, when her Componibili series of storage containers for Kartell helped to legitimize the use of plastic in durable products for the home. The rounded, modular storage units have become Italian design icons and they are still produced by Kartell four decades after their original introduction. Castelli Ferrieri's work is included in the permanent collections of museums in London, New York and Paris.
With the influence of an emerging youth culture, furniture design of the 1960s lost much of its traditional formality. One characteristic relaxed design of the era was the Bobo lounger by Cini Boeri for Milan-based manufacturer Arflex. Boeri dispensed with a traditional covering and instead allowed the soft polyurethane foam padding to define the design. In 1972, another chair design by Boeri and Laura Griziotti earned the duo the prestigious Compasso d'Oro award. That same year, Boeri demonstrated her versatility by designing a series of drinking glasses for the manufacturer Arnalfo di Cambio. Her Cibi drinking glass will be preserved for posterity in a unique manner - the modern glassware is used by Harrison Ford's character in a scene in the 1982 classic sci-fi film Blade Runner. Boeri's recent work includes the 2000 me office desking system for German company Rosenthal.
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