Atelier Mendini is a

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

studio based in

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

. It was founded in 1989 by two architect brothers

Alessandro Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

and Francesco Mendini. The Atelier consists of various design professionals: including

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...

s, and

industrial designers Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactur ...

. It also has a special department dedicated to project research and experimentation in materials.

The Atelier

and Francesco Mendini together opened and ran Atelier Mendini in 1989. Andrea Balzari, Bruno Gregori, Alex Mocika and Emanuela Morra later joined as a junior partners of the Atelier since 2000. Alessandro Mendini’s focus is on objects, furniture, concept interiors, paintings, installations and architecture. Francesco Menidni is in charge of architectural projects and exhibitions within the Atelier. Atelier Mendini is well recognized for the notability of their two founders, Alessandro and Francesco Mendini, prior to the opening of the Atelier. Alessandro Mendini is considered one of the well-known figures in contemporary design, known for his critical analysis of “postmodern design” and “re-design” since the 1970s. He has created, built, published, various of works that opens a new face for design as we knew today. Francesco Mendini has also been involved in various architectural and urban planning projects in Italy and worldwide. Alessandro Mendini 01

Alessandro Mendini

Alessandro Mendini was born in Milan, Italy in 1931. Graduated with an architecture degree from

Politecnico di Milano The Polytechnic University of Milan () is the largest technical university in Italy, with about 42,000 students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and higher education courses in engineering, architecture and design. Founded in 186 ...

in 1959, he started his career as a designer with

Marcello Nizzoli Marcello Nizzoli (; 1887 - 1969) was an Italian artist, architect, industrial and graphic designer. He was the chief designer for Olivetti for many years and was responsible notably for the iconic Lettera 22 portable typewriters in 1950. Wor ...

, an Italian artist, designer, and architect. Alessandro is considered one of the greatest figure in twentieth century design. He has produced countless of important works ranging from publications, graphic, furniture, interior, architecture, and even writing of several books. He was also an early member of

Studio Alchimia Studio Alchimia was a post-radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain a ...

which he joined in 1979 and co-founded

Domus Academy Domus Academy is a private school of design in Milan, Italy. It offers post-graduate and professional courses in fashion, industrial design, and design management. It is not listed by the Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ric ...

in 1982. He also directed the

Casabella ''Casabella'' is a monthly Italian architectural and product design magazine with a focus on modern, radical design and architecture. It includes interviews with the world's most prominent architects. History and profile Casabella was founded in ...

, Modo and Domus magazine.

Francesco Mendini

Francesco Mendini was born in Milan, Italy in 1939. He started his career with Nizzoli Associates. Francesco Mendini focuses primarily on industrialization and engineering in construction. He is a consultant to different building research bureaus and the

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

in Italy.

Projects

The Atelier has worked for clients in more than thirty countries, with some of their notable projects includes a tower in

Hiroshima, Japan is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama ...

; the

Groninger Museum The Groninger Museum () is an art museum in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. The museum exhibits modern and contemporary art of local, national, and international artists. The museum opened in 1874. The current post-modernist building co ...

in the Netherlands; Alessi factory in Omega; and urban planning consultancy for several cities in Korea. They are also notable for their object, furniture, interior, painting, and installation design and collaborations, mostly oversaw by Alessandro Mendini. The projects includes collaboration with Alessi,

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australia' ...

Swatch Swatch is a Swiss watchmaker founded in 1983 by Ernst Thomke, Elmar Mock, and Jacques Müller. It is a subsidiary of The Swatch Group. The Swatch product line was developed as a response to the "quartz crisis" of the 1970s and 1980s, in which i ...

Hermès Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès ( , ), is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Its logo, since ...

and

Venini Venini were a British artrock band, featuring members of Pulp and Ladytron, who were active between the years 1998 and 2001. History Guitarist and violinist Russell Senior left Pulp in 1997 and began writing and demoing songs with vocalist/lyric ...

. A full list of projects by Alessandro and/with Francesco Mendini prior to and after the establishment of Atelier Mendini can be found in th
archive of the Atelier

Notable Projects

* Torre Paradiso, Hiroshima, Japan 1988 *

, Groningen, the Netherlands 1988-1994
Museo del Casalingo - Forum Megna
1996
Parrot Corkscrews For Alessi
2013

References

{{reflist Architecture firms of Italy Graphic design studios