Ignazio Gardella

The book, written in the dense, analytical style of Antonio Monestiroli, sets out to describe the work of Ignazio Gardella in the Milanese cultural and architectural scene. Gardella (b. Milan 1905 – Oleggio,
Novara 1999) graduated in engineering at the Milan Politecnico in1928, and, in 1949, in architecture at the University of Venice, where he held the chair from 1962 to 1975. In 1947, he participated in the first INU Congress. From 1952 until 1956, along with Samonà, Rogers and Albini, he organized the CIAM School in Venice. In 1959 he was a member of the Italian delegation that attended the last CIAM Congress in Otterlo. The book takes a critical look at Gardella’s work in the field of design, starting with early projects like the competition for a Tower in Piazza Duomo in 1934, the Anti-Tuberculosis Dispensary (1933-38) and the Provincial Hygiene and Prevention Office in Alessandria (1933-39) and goes on examine the projects designed in the 1950s and 1960s: the Contemporary Art Pavilion (1951), the “House in the Park” and the house in the Giardini d’Ercole (1951) in Milan; Casa Borsalino (1950) in Alessandria; the Regina Isabella Spa building (1950-54) on Ischia; the “Casa alle Zattere” (1953-58) in Venice; the Canteen and the Olivetti Recreation Center (1954-58) in Ivrea. Some of the most important projects towards the end of Gardella’s career include: the Palace of Justice at La Spezia (1963-94); the design for the competition for the Civic Theater in Vicenza (1st prize, 1969); the building for the Technical Offices of Alfa Romeo at Arese (1968-74); the Carlo Felice Theater (1981-90) and the headquarters of the Faculty of Architecture in Genoa (1975-89). Gardella received many public acknowledgements over the years, including the Gold Medal awarded by the Italian President (1977) and, in 1996, the Leone d’Oro for his life’s work at the Venice Biennale.