The Architect & Designer

Ettore Sottsass (14. September 1917 in Innsbruck) is an Italian architect and designer of the late 20th century. He founded the Memphis Group. Ettore Sottsass passed away on  31st December, 2007 at his home in Milan.

Originally an architect, Sottsass became a consulting designer for typewriter manufacturer Olivetti.


Career

Ettore Sottsass was one of the leading members of the ‘Memphis’ group founded in 1981 with Barbara Radice as public relations/art director. The group’s main aim was to bring back radical designs and did so through toasters that the whole group designed together. The products that were made by the ‘Memphis’ group always had bright colours and bold patterns and were made of plastic laminate surfaces. Sottsass and Memphis were out to make a statement and to break down the barriers between high class and low class. To some, this concept would take a lifetime to happen but to others it offered freedom.

The Austrian born designer, Ettore Sottsass was described as ‘a forward looking designer.’ He began his career by studying architecture at Turin Polytechnic. He was a student there for 4 years and proved his talent as he wrote articles on art and interior design with his fellow student Luigi Spazzanpan.

On leaving College, Sottsass joined the Italian army for 3 years. After finishing his army duties, he worked for a group of architects and before long set up his own Milan based office in 1947, which he called ‘The Studio.’

Sottsass eventually teamed up with Olivetti as a design consultant and worked with him for over twenty years. While working with Olivetti, Sottsass made many new and different things. He designed a pop-influenced “totem”, a Valentine typewriter, Elea 9003 calculator etc.


The International Fame

Sottsass, internationally well known as architect too, has signed important projects all over the world. Along the years of his brilliant career have had the precious cooperation of friends often become, themselves, internationally well known in architecture and design field, like Aldo Cibic, James Irvine, Matteo Thun.




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