Project Gallery

The intense output of Gino Valle (1923-2003) has been extensively studied in monographs that have already brought out its complexity and contradictions. Our book seeks to reveal nuances that have so far remained undetected in previous studies concerning the collective aspect of Studio Valle’s output and its deep roots in the society of the second half of the twentieth century. Studio Valle was (and still is) a fluid practice, constantly evolving, where over time there have been several groups of partners and colleagues who have responded within the design and construction process to the requests of different clients, both private and public. This new point of view has opened up interesting reflections on the variety of the works, that corresponds to an explicit desire for experimentation. The collective work, together with the stimuli coming from its various social, geographical, cultural and economic contexts, has helped to define this at times contradictory and elusive multiplicity. The selection of works presented in our thematic study in depth is intended to be representative of Gino Valle’s oeuvre produced over a period of over thirty years, from his degree thesis in 1948 to the 1980s, and the breadth of themes that he dealt with partly in his homeland, Friuli, as well as various other parts of Italy and the world.
Texts by: Joseph Rykwert, Pierre-Alain Croset, Francesca Albani, Franz Graf, Pietro Valle, Carlo Dusi, Giulio Sampaoli. Interviews with: Piera Ricci Menichetti, Giorgio Macola.

Gino Valle. La professione come sperimentazione continua / The Profession as Continuous Experimentation

The book presents a journey through some of the most significant architectural works by Angelo Mangiarotti (1921-2012), the Milanese designer, architect and sculptor who made a profound impression on the cultural landscape of the post-war period. The aim is to highlight the achievement of a designer-builder who explored different themes – residential buildings, workplaces, exhibition spaces, all of them documented here – with a critical and speculative approach that sought to create a distinctive and innovative architectural language. The quest for simple and elementary forms, capable of transcending differences in scale, function and materials, is common to both Mangiarotti’s architecture and his product designs, equally the product of an ethical outlook which respected people and was sparing of his resources .

Texts by Franz Graf, Francesca Albani, Thomas Herzog, Kinue Horikawa. Testimonies by Anna Mangiarotti and Mario Botta. Photographs by Giorgio Casali.

Angelo Mangiarotti. La tettonica dell'assemblaggio / The Tectonics of Assembly

Aurelio Galfetti. Costruire lo spazio The Construction of Space, Mendrisio Academy Press

The three essays brought together here offer a specific reading of different phases of Galfetti’s achievement. Starting from a single project, they demonstrate how the idea of a territorial architecture has always linked the project in his work (on every scale) to the place, the landscape and the territory.

Texts by: Franz Graf, Nicola Navone, Laurent Stalder.
Interview by Francesca Albani.

Aurelio Galfetti. Costruire lo spazio / The Construction of Space

«Along with Pierre Chareau’s Maison de Verre, Paris of 1932, and Adalberto Libera’s Casa Malaparte in Capri of 1938, the Villa Girasole, finally launched on its diurnal cycle in 1935, now begins to assume its rightful place as one of the eccentric masterpieces of twentieth century architecture» (Kenneth Frampton).

Texts in English and Italian by Kenneth Frampton, Aurelio Galfetti, Valeria Farinati.
Photographs by Enrico Cano.

Villa Girasole. La casa rotante / The Revolving House

The result of a competition held in the summer of 1967, the Swimming Baths of Bellinzona by Aurelio Galfetti, Flora Ruchat-Roncati and Ivo Trümpy offers the first concrete manifestation of that “territorial architecture” that has been a feature of architecture in the Ticino from the late sixties down to its most recent developments. Drawing on largely unpublished materials preserved in the Archivio del Moderno, supplemented with drawings, photographs (historical and current), documents from the private archives of the architects, and other public and private records, the volume presents a critical reading of the work while retracing its history: from the competition to the development of intermediate variants down to the drafting and completion of the final project.

Texts by Bruno Reichlin, Nicola Navone, Martin Steinmann, Franz Graf and Monica Sciarini.
Colour photographs by Enrico Cano.

Il Bagno di Bellinzona di Aurelio Galfetti, Flora Ruchat-Roncati, Ivo Trümpy

Built in Milan between 1954 and 1958 to provide a home for children in difficulty, the Marchiondi Spagliardi Institute by Vittoriano Viganò represents, through its innovative educational program, its “neo-Brutalist” vocabulary and its material nature, a phase of outstanding interest in European architectural research. This volume presents a critical reading of the work by many voices, conducted through the interpretation of previously unpublished materials from the Viganò family, the architect’s professional archives, and the archives of the client, the contractor and other professionals.

Texts by Bruno Reichlin, Letizia Tedeschi, Alberto Grimoldi, Franz Graf, Francesca Albani, Gianni Ottolini, Valeria Farinati.
Photographs by Ugo La Pietra and Enrico Cano.

L'Istituto Marchiondi Spagliardi di Vittoriano Viganò

The Revolving House

The Revolving House

The book comprises two volumes. The first tells the story of the Girasole and illustrates its progress with the help of contemporary drawings and photographs. The second takes the reader on a guided tour of the Villa accompanied by Enrico Cano’s recent colour photographs.

Villa Girasole. La casa rotante / The Revolving House