Mario Bellini
“We understood that function can follow form, but form also has a function: that of procuring us emotions. We need them to be happy. " (Mario Bellini)
Mario Bellini, internationally renowned architect and designer, was born in Milan in 1935. His architectural training began at the faculty of architecture of the Polytechnic University of Milan where he received his degree in 1959. Here he was able to interact with professors such as Ernesto Nathan Rogers, Gio Ponti and Piero Portaluppi (department head), some of the most prominent figures of the architectural panorama of the period.
Immediately after graduating in the 1960s, he opened his first design studio and began to delve into the field of design and architecture. He then created Mario Bellini Associati Srl in 1987, with which he embraced the world of contemporary living from all perspectives and on all scales, dealing with projects ranging from urban planning, architecture and furniture, to exhibition and museum installations. The product and furniture design department separated in 1997 to become the newly founded Atelier Bellini, which he started up with his son Claudio.
From the very first designs, his innovative abilities launched him into a world-class dimension, obtaining various acknowledgments in all the areas of design with which he dealt.
He began to establish himself as a designer from 1963 while collaborating with the Italian company Olivetti. At the time, it was an outstanding international name in the field of typewriter and calculator electronics, and a pioneer in industrial aesthetics that characterized the sector throughout the century.
Over time he continued to be active in the product field, interacting with diversified and well-established Italian and international brands including B&B Italia, Cassina, Flou, Riva 1920, Tecno, Vitra, Kartell, Nemo, Horm, Brionvega, Yamaha and Renault.
Winner of eight Compasso d’Oro awards, he has created a career marked by great successes as a designer. The fact that 25 products he designed are now part of the permanent collection of the Moma in New York is an undeniable testimony.
His reputation and the exceptional nature of his personality are testified not only by the various prizes, medals and awards he has won over time, but by the solo exhibitions that have consecrated his works amongst which stands out the exhibition the Moma of New York dedicated to him in 1987.
“I like to imagine each new project as a new adventure to be faced with curiosity, open-mindedness and new creative energy”. (Mario Bellini 2011)
This declaration expresses the personality of this dynamic designer who, like few others, has been able to masterfully excel in every field and project.
His curriculum vitae also includes diverse and numerous renowned responsibilities that go beyond design and architecture, which he has interpreted with exemplary skill: president of the Association for Industrial Design (1969-1971), director of the renowned Domus magazine (1986-1991) , professor of industrial design in various universities as well as speaker at conferences and seminars the world over, and since 1979, a council member of the design section at the Milan Triennial which in 2015 awarded him the Gold Medal for his career in architecture.
