Piero Portaluppi

LORENZO PENNATI - PATRIZIA PICCININI PIERO PORTALUPPI

TEXTS BY PATRIZIA PICCININI PHOTOGRAPHY BY LORENZO PENNATI

A tribute to a recently rediscovered Italian architect and urban planner from the early twentieth century, featuring 150 previously unpublished photographs.

This new volume is dedicated to Piero Portaluppi (1888–1967), a significant and recently rediscovered figure of Italian twentieth-century architecture. Long neglected by critics, his work has been revisited and rightly reappraised thanks to the opening of Villa Necchi in Milan to the public.

The book traces Portaluppi’s work through three design typologies: living spaces, the aesthetics of industrial structures, and public places. Notable examples of the industrial spaces include the power plants that Portaluppi lovingly constructed from 1910 to 1930, real architectural gems with an eclectic taste.

Portaluppi was also architect to the nascent industrial bourgeoisie in Northern Italy, the group that contributed to the new prosperity of Italian society. In addition to Necchi Campiglio, he worked for the Wassermanns and the Boschi Di Stefanos. Finally, he designed very important public spaces for the city of Milan, such as the Diurno hotel (1925) and the Hoepli Planetarium (1930).

The book adopts a photographic, very visual approach, paying particular attention to the chromatic details of the construction materials, the architect’s trademark. The ad hoc photo shoot by Lorenzo Pennati is the first of its kind. Short introductory texts accompany the 150 photographs.

Patrizia Piccinini is an interior design journalist who has written for several Italian newspapers and has been on the editorial staff of Marie Claire Maison since 1998. Lorenzo Pennati is an interiors and advertising photographer. He collaborates with many Italian and international publications, and also with furniture and design companies.

ARCHITECTURE

224 pages, 9 x 11” 150 color illustrations HC: 97-8-88-9183309-9 $70.00 Can: $90.00 UK: £49.95 February 22, 2022 Rights: World RIZZOLI