Mario Bellini Explained

Mario Bellini
Birth Date:1 February 1935
Birth Place:Milan, Italy
Occupation:Architect and designer
Awards:Compasso d’Oro
Medaglia d’Oro
Alma Mater:Milan Polytechnic - Faculty of Architecture
Notable Works:Museum of Islamic Art, Louvre Museum, Paris
Deutsche Bank Headquarters refurbishment, Frankfurt
Milan Convention Center (MICO), Milan

Mario Bellini (born 1 February 1935) is an Italian architect and designer.[1] After graduating from the Polytechnic University of Milan in 1959, Bellini pursued a career as an architect, exhibition designer, product designer, and furniture designer during the Italian economic boom of the late 20th century.[2] Bellini has received several accolades in a variety of design fields, including eight Compasso d'Oro awards and the Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement by the Triennale di Milano.[3] In 2019, the Italian President of the Chamber of Deputies, Roberto Fico, awarded Bellini a career medal in recognition of his contributions to Italian architecture and design.[4]

Design

In 1963, Bellini became a consultant for Olivetti, where he worked on the design of the Programma 101, a precursor to the desktop computer.[5] [6] His design for the CMC7-7004 magnetic character marking machine won the Compasso d'Oro in 1964.[7] Bellini continued to collaborate with Olivetti throughout the 1970s and 1980s, during which time he was involved in the design of many of the company's iconic products, such as the Lexicon 82 and Praxis 35 electric typewriters (the latter of which also won a Compasso d'Oro in 1981),[8] Mercator 20 cash register (1984 Compasso d'Oro), and the Divisumma 28 electronic printing calculator.[9] [10]

Bellini has also worked with several other companies, including B&B Italia, Brionvega, Cassina, Heller Furniture, Flou, Yamaha, Renault, Rosenthal, Tecno, Riva 1920, Vitra, and Kartell.

For many years he designed furnishing products and systems for B&B Italia and Cassina. He designed TV sets, hi-fi systems, headphones, and electric organs for Yamaha. For five years, he worked as an automobile design consultant with Renault. He has also designed for Fiat and Lancia (notably the interior of the 1980 Lancia Trevi); lamps for Artemide, Erco and Flos; and office furniture for Vitra.

Other firms for whom he has designed products and/or continues to design products include (in Italy) Acerbis, Bras, Driade, Candy, Castilia, Flou, Kartell, Marcatrè, Meritalia, Natuzzi and Poltrona Frau; (in Belgium) Ideal Standard; (in Germany) Lamy and Rosenthal; (in Japan) Fuji and Zojirushi; and (in the USA) Heller Furniture.

In 1972, Bellini was commissioned to design and build the prototype of the Kar-a-Sutra mobile environment for the exhibition “Italy: the New Domestic Landscape” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.[11] [12] His Camaleonda modular sofa system, produced until 1979 by B&B Italia, was also shown in this exhibition.[13]

In 1987, the Museum of Modern Art of New York devoted a personal retrospective exhibition to Bellini's career.[14] At the time, the museum already included 25 of his works in its permanent collection, including a set of Olivetti machines, furniture designed in collaboration with B&B and Cassina, and the office chairs he designed for Vitra.

Mario Bellini Architects (MBA) is headquartered in Milan. The 1,500 square meter building was designed by Mario Bellini himself in the early 1990s. In 1999, MBA obtained ISO 9001 quality certification. Today, the firm employs an average of 30 to 35 architects.[15]

Gallery of design works

Architecture

Since the 1980s, Bellini has designed buildings in Europe, Japan, the United States, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Projects built

Projects under construction

Among the best architectural creations

Exhibitions

Bellini has been responsible for the exhibition design of many art exhibitions, including the following:

Major solo exhibitions

References

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mario Bellini biografia . 2022-09-02 . www.archimagazine.com.
  2. Web site: updated . Jonathan Bell last . 2017-01-13 . Italian beauty: a new show celebrates the career of Mario Bellini . 2023-01-13 . wallpaper.com . en.
  3. Web site: 2015-12-16 . Medaglia d'Oro all'Architettura Italiana 2015 - Living Corriere . 2023-01-13 . Living . it-IT.
  4. Web site: Inaugurazione della mostra "Mario Bellini. Italian Beauty. Architettura, design e altro" (Mosca, 4 marzo) . 2023-01-13 . ambmosca.esteri.it . it-it.
  5. Web site: Mario Bellini. Programma 101 Electronic Desktop Computer. 1965 MoMA . 2022-09-02 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
  6. Web site: OLIVETTI PROGRAMMA 101 – POLIMUSEO . 2022-09-02 . en-GB.
  7. Web site: 2022-03-07 . I 16 Compassi d’Oro Olivetti . 2024-07-22 . Associazione Archivio Storico Olivetti . it.
  8. Web site: PRAXIS 35 . 2024-07-22 . ADI Design Museum . en-US.
  9. Web site: Mario Bellini, Antonio Macchi Cassia, Gianni Passini. Lexicon 82 Electric Typewriter. 1972-73 MoMA . 2022-09-02 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
  10. Web site: Mario Bellini. Divisumma 28 Electronic Printing Calculator. 1972 MoMA . 2022-09-02 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
  11. Web site: Concept Car of the Week: The Kar-A-Sutra (1972) - Car Design News. cardesignnews.com. 2019-05-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20190517143150/https://cardesignnews.com/articles/concept-car-of-the-week/2016/10/kar-a-sutra. 2019-05-17. dead.
  12. Web site: mario bellini talks about his 1972 'kar-a-sutra' concept car. 2017-01-20. designboom architecture & design magazine. en. 2019-05-17.
  13. Web site: 2020-03-23 . Camaleonda Sofa by Mario Bellini . 2021-12-12 . Italian Design Club . en-US.
  14. 1987 . Mario Bellini: Designer . MoMA . 44 . 2–3 . 4381021 . 0893-0279.
  15. Web site: Headquarters of Mario Bellini Architects Srl – Mario Bellini Architects . 2022-12-28 . it-IT.

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