Enrico Taglietti (16 April 1926 – 3 May 2019) was an Italian-born Australian

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 ...

, known for designing a number of acclaimed buildings in Australia. In 2007, he was the winner of the

Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal The Gold Medal is the highest award of the Australian Institute of Architects, awarded annually since 1960. The award was created to recognise distinguished service by Australian architects who have: * designed or executed buildings of high meri ...

Biography

Enrico Taglietti was born in

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

in 1926 and graduated in 1954 from the

Milan Polytechnic 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 ...

University, where he studied under

Gio Ponti Giovanni "Gio" Ponti ( ͡ʒo18 November 1891 – 16 September 1979) was an Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer, artist, teacher, writer and publisher. During his career, which spanned six decades, Ponti built more tha ...

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and

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. In 1955, he was sent to Australia by the Italian government to find a site in Canberra for the Italian embassy (which he ended up designing). He loved the unspoilt environment of Australia and ended up settling in Canberra from the early 1960s. He designed many iconic buildings, mainly in Canberra, but also in Sydney and Melbourne. They are in a Modern architecture, Modernist, sometimes Brutalist architecture, Brutalist, late-20th-century Organic architecture, Organic Style, designed "from the inside out", according to the architect, with an emphasis on atmosphere, light and poetry. Taglietti was celebrated in 2018 as the featured architect of the Canberra Design Festival, with a whole day symposium dedicated to his work. He wrote on his website: ''“We stand upon the verge of an abyss, the abyss created by the culture of egoism and puritanical righteousness. Men have lost their belief in the invisible. Architecture is no longer a WONDER but a temptation for the profitable. The aim of my architecture is to express the invisible, joy and music, silence, light and the desire to be”''. Taglietti died on 3 May 2019, at the age of 93. Taglietti was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2020 Australia Day Honours for "distinguished service to architecture, particularly in the Australian Capital Territory, to education, and to professional organisations." The award was announced after his death.

Partial list of works

Cinema Center building on Bunda Street September 2020

*Embassy of Italy, Deakin, Australian Capital Territory, Deakin (Australian Capital Territory, ACT) (1967) *Dickson, Australian Capital Territory, Dickson Library (ACT) (1968) *St Anthony's Catholic Church, Marsfield, New South Wales, Marsfield (New South Wales, NSW) (1968) *St Kilda, Victoria, St Kilda St Kilda Library, Library (Victoria (Australia), VIC) (1971) *Flynn, Australian Capital Territory, Flynn Primary School (ACT) (1972) *Giralang, Australian Capital Territory, Giralang Primary School (ACT) (1974) *Australian War Memorial Annex (ACT) (1977) *Gowrie Primary School, Australian Capital Territory, Gowrie Primary School (ACT) (1981http://www.gowrieps.act.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/435301/Gazette_Week_6_Term_4.pdf ) *Cinema Center, Civic, Australian Capital Territory, Civic (ACT) *Many private residences all over Canberra

References

1926 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Australian architects 21st-century Australian architects Italian emigrants to Australia Officers of the Order of Australia Architects from Milan Polytechnic University of Milan alumni Recipients of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal {{Australia-architect-stub