Padiglione nel Parco Sempione is a research project about the XIV Triennale di Milano, and it consists of a book and a video interview. The main topics addressed by the project are strictly related to Joe Colombo and the Italian design between the 1960s and the 1970s.
What does the book talk about?
"Padiglione nel Parco Sempione – Espressioni e Produzioni italiane" is the name of the editorial artifact developed for this research project. Its main goal is investigating on the approach to the world of design pursued by Italian designers during the Third Industrial Revolution, which introduced for the first time in history the usage of plastic. This material had been seen to be inferior to others (such as wood and steel, called "noble materials") for many years, until Joe Colombo and other designers started using it freely without preconceptions. This drastic revolution of thinking led to the reinvention of everyone's homes and lives.
As you can see, the book has been inspired by brutalism and the Bauhaus' design principles, movements that had both been characterizing the 1900s stylistic currents for decades at the time the XIV Triennale took place (in 1968).
An interview with Elena Dellapiana
Elena Dellapiana is an Architecture Professor at Politecnico di Torino who has been researching on Made in Italy and Italian design for several years now. Her knowledge and interest in this field led us into asking her a few questions about the topic. Down below you can watch and listen to her answers in the interview that concludes this project.
The interview with Elena Dellapiana is also summarized in a specific chapter of the book that tries to complete our research on the Italian design movement in a century that has seen it being a main reference for many designers from all over the world.
