Mario Bellini - excellent Italian design
The Italian architect and designer Mario Bellini was born in Milan in 1935, where he also studied architecture at the Polytechnic. Bellini started his career as a designer for writing instruments for Lamy, electrical appliances for Brionvega, office machines for Olivetti, lamps for Erco, tableware for Rosenthal, the famous Cab Chair for Cassina and of course the comfortable and ergonomic office chairs for Vitra, in collaboration with his son Claudio Bellini.
The New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is showing 25 designs by Mario Bellini. However, he achieved worldwide fame by planning and supervising large construction and renovation projects, such as the two formerly separate Frankfurt bank towers, which he connected and transformed into a certified eco-house. Mario Bellini likes it more colourful and opulent in his private life; he lives in a palazzo with both modern and historical interiors.
Mario Bellini - his rule is not to have a rule
The son of a Milanese merchant, he wants to create something new with every object and follows his feelings; "he never stopped being curious," says Mario Bellini. Art was already part of his life in his original family. In his uncle's brickyard, Mario liked to model with clay; as an adult, Mario Bellini formed himself through purposeful journeys; he explored significant buildings, including museums and private houses, as well as landscapes throughout the Mediterranean and the USA. He received a total of eight Compasso d'Oro awards, the coveted prize for industrial design. Since the 1980s, Mario Bellini has mainly worked as an architect.
Claudio Bellini - excellent Italian design in the 2nd generation
Designer and architect Claudio Francesco Bellini was born in Milan in 1963. Like his famous father, he studied architecture and product design at the Politechnikum. After graduating in 1990, he worked for six years for his father at Mario Bellini Associati, where he participated in projects and competitions. In 1996 Claudio Bellini founded his own company with a focus on working environments. With the studio "Claudio Bellini Design", the artist works in the fields of product design, furniture and architecture and has been cooperating with Barazzoni, a manufacturer of high-quality cooking pots and other kitchen appliances, since 2003. Claudio Bellini was awarded the Red Dot Design Award, the IF Product Design Award, the PIN-UP Design Award and the Good Design Award. The design and engineering of his chairs are complex and at the cutting edge of technical development. Claudio Bellini develops contemporary office furniture in simple elegance as commissioned works from all over the world.
** Bild: By ClaudioBelliniDesign - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=89615473