For the first time, a series of well-documented and profound interpretative essays form a complete profile of Bruno Morassutti, his work as an architect, and his personality, describing his work in the field of Italian architecture in the second half of the 20th century.
In recent years, the figure and the work of Morassutti has attracted well-deserved attention from critics, imposing its values on contemporary architectural culture. Born in Padua in 1920, Morassutti graduated at the Faculty of Architecture at Venice University (1946), and was subsequently the only Italian to study for a year in the community project organized by Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin (1949-50). On his return from the American experience, having worked briefly with Carlo Scarpa, the Paduan architect tempered the influence of Lloyd Wright by embarking on his own independent field of research. He moved to Milan to work at the BBPR studio where he met Angelo Mangiarotti, with whom he worked for several years (1954-63). During this period, several famous buildings took shape, like the church at Baranzate, the block of flats in Via Gavirate and another in Via Quadronno in Milan, all with the contribution of structural expert Aldo Favini. In 1967 he joined architects Giovanna Gussoni, Mario Memoli and Maria Gabriella Benevento, with whom he designed the extraordinary IBM complex at Novedrate (1970-74), as well as studies and projects on the use of prefabricated construction systems.