Gaetana "Gae" Aulenti (pronounced[ˈɡaːeauˈlɛnti]; 4 December 1927 – 31 October 2012) was an Italian architect and designer who was active in furniture design,
graphic design,
stage design, lighting design,
exhibition and
interior design.[1] She was known for her contributions to the design of important museums such as the
Musée d'Orsay[2] in
Paris (in collaboration with ACT Architecture),[3] the
Contemporary Art Gallery at the
Centre Pompidou in Paris,[4] the restoration of
Palazzo Grassi in
Venice,[5] and the
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (in collaboration with
HOK Architects).[6] Aulenti was one of only a few women architects and designers who gained notoriety in their own right during the post-war period in Italy,[7] where Italian designers sought to make meaningful connections to production principles, and influenced culture far beyond Italy.[8] This avant-garde design movement blossomed into an entirely new type of architecture and design, one full of imaginary utopias leaving standardization to the past.
Aulenti's involvement in the Milan design scene of the 1950s and 1960s formed her into an architect respected for her analytical abilities to navigate metropolitan complexity no matter the medium. Her conceptual development can be followed in the design magazine
Casabella, to which she contributed regularly.[8]
Branching into written publication, Aulenti joined the editorial staff at the design magazine Casabella-Continuità from 1955 until 1965 as an art director, doing graphic design work, and later served on the board of directors for the renamed Lotus International magazine (based in Milan from 1974 onwards). During that time, she became part of a group of young professionals influenced by the philosophy of
Ernesto Nathan Rogers.
Aulenti taught at Venice School of Architecture as an assistant instructor in architectural composition[11] from 1960 to 1962 and at the Milan School of Architecture of the Polytechnic University from 1964 to 1967. With these experiences, she became a visiting lecturer at congresses and professional institutions in Europe and North America from 1967 onwards. She sought membership in two of them, the American Society of Interior Designers, 1967, and Member of Movimento Studi per I'Architettura, Milan, 1955–61.[11] During that time, she also designed for a department store,
La Rinascente, and later designed furniture for
Zanotta, where she created two of her most well-known pieces, the "April" folding chair which was made from stainless steel with a removable cover, and her "Sanmarco" table constructed from plate-glass. Transitioning from teaching, Aulenti joined
Luca Ronconi as a collaborator in figurative research for Laboratorio di Progettazione Teatrale out of Prato, Florence (1976–79).[11] She then also served as vice-president of the
Italian Association of Industrial Design (ADI).
Aulenti also occasionally worked as a stage designer for Luca Ronconi, including for Samstag aus Licht (1984). She also planned six stores for the fashion designer
Adrienne Vittadini, including one on
Rodeo Drive in
Los Angeles. She even designed the mannequins.[15]
Aulenti's work in theatre was highly architectural, as she saw 'the scenic box not as a container to embellish and render recognizable in the sense of something already known, but as a real space in itself".[16]
Aulenti worked in the post-war period of
Italy while creating pieces that spanned across a wide variety of styles and influences. She always wanted the focus of the room to be the occupants, believing people make the room a room. She had a modest style; Vogue quoted her as saying "advice to whoever asks me how to make a home is to not have anything, just a few shelves for books, some pillows to sit on. And then, to take a stand against the ephemeral, against passing trends...and to return to lasting values."
Death and legacy
Aulenti died in
Milan on 31 October 2012, just weeks prior to her 85th birthday. She was suffering from chronic illness and made her last public appearance on 16 October, when she received the career prize at the
Milan Triennale. Aulenti was commemorated in Milan by the
Piazza Gae Aulenti in December 2012, soon after her death.
A portion of Aulenti's papers, drawings, and designs including the design drawings for the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California are collected at the International Archive of Women in Architecture in Newman Library, Virginia Tech.[18]
At the
1964 Milan Triennial, Aulenti won the Grand International Prize for her piece in the Italian Pavilion.[11] Her piece was a room with mirrored walls with cutout silhouettes of women inspired by
Picasso. It was entitled "Arrivo al Mare". She also served on the executive board for the Triennial from 1977– 1980. In 1991, she was awarded the prestigious
Praemium Imperiale.
Commandeur, Order des Artes et Letters, France, 1987[11]
Honorary Dean of Architecture, Merchandise Mart of Chicago, 1988[11]
Accademico Nazionale, Accademia di San Luca, Rome, 1988[11]
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (6 December 1995)[23]
Publications (selected)
Aulenti and others, Una Nova Scuola de Base, Milan, 1973
Aulenti, Franco Quadri and Luca Renconi, Il Laboratorio di Prato, Milan, 1981
Aulenti and others, Il Quartetto delta Maledizione, Milan, 1985
Aulenti and others, Progetto Bicocca, Milan, 1986
Aulenti, Gae Aulenti, New York, 1997
Quotes
"There are plenty of other talented female architects, but most of them seem to link up with men...I've always worked for myself, and it's been quite an education. Women in architecture must not think of themselves as a minority, because the minute you do, you become paralyzed. It is important to never create the problem." – Aulenti quoted in The Guardian's recent obituary.
"Advice to whoever asks me how to make a home is to not have anything, just a few shelves for books, some pillows to sit on. And then, to take a stand against the ephemeral, against passing trends...and to return to lasting values." – Aulenti to Vogue
"I am convinced that architecture is tied to the polis, it is an art of the city, of the foundation, and as such it is necessarily related and conditioned by the context in which it is born. Place, time, and culture create that architecture, instead of another." – Aulenti in Margherita Petranzan, Gae Aulenti, Rizzoli Skira, Milan, 2002
"It's not possible to define a style in my work. If you're designing an airport, then aeroplanes are important. It's no more complicated to design a museum. I prefer museums for my personal passion – the art." – Aulenti quoted in The Times
"The conscious principle in this design has been to achieve forms that could create experiences, and that could at the same time welcome everyone's experiences with the serenity of an effortless development." – Aulenti
"When you're criticized for something, it's best to wait two or three years and see." – Aulenti
"What is more real and tangible within an artificial space than brick?" – Aulenti
"Raggi: Has the fact that you are a woman been a crucial influence in your work:" Aulenti: Yes." – Aulenti in interview with Franco Raggi, "From a Great Desire to Build a City" published in Modo, no. 21, 1979.
Further reading
Muriel Emmanuel. Contemporary Architects. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980.
ISBN0-312-16635-4. NA680.C625. p 53.
Ruth A Peltason. 100 Contemporary Architects. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers.
ISBN0-8109-3661-5. NA2700.L26. p 24.