Aldo Rossi

Born in Milan (1931-1997), he is considered by many to be the greatest Italian architect of the second half of the 20th century. His life as an architect started with Gardella and Zanuso. An author of abstraction, reduction and brevitas, his severe language of primary shapes, geometrical patterns and silent evocation created some of the most intensely poetic works of architecture and design in his age.

What Alessi say about Rossi:
"Aldo Rossi was a lake-lover like me. He was never happier than when he went to meditate and write at the old family house on Lake Mergozzo, I found out when we first met in the spring of 1980. He designed some of the most representative of our eighties articles, and had an ability - which only the great designers have - to tune in to the public mood. Rossi regarded design as something of a hobby; is first love was always architecture. He died in an accident on Lake Maggiore. The first of my masters to pass away. I miss him terribly, I'm very sad to say. As can be seen from the design of a coffee-maker "protected" by San Carlone of Arona, Aldo had a way of relating to our engineers that was worlds away from what we had experienced: he made sketches, presented them, and then waited for the engineers to make all their comments and changes, even sweeping ones. It seemed as if everything was OK! For Uncle and Casalino, fresh from the relationship with Sapper, this was a scandalous attitude. One day Uncle said to him in his grumpy way: But, really, couldn't you bring us finished designs rather than these sketches which are only half done? That was the only time I ever saw Rossi get angry. He answered dryly that if we wanted final-draft technical designs, then we could get them from Zanuso, but not from him. Rossi's attitude helped me to understand an approach to design not restricted to himself, but shared to some degree by all or almost all designers who have experience as architects. In the days of the "famous" clash over technical drawings, my uncle was bewildered, but at the next opportunity he managed to redeem himself by comparing Aldo's designs to those of Morandi. Aldo was struck, and from that moment a great passion grew between the two of them, culminating in the design for my cousin Stefano's house at Suna (1995)."