Ignazio Gardella (19051999)
Born into a family of architects, Ignazio Gardella graduated in engineering from the Politecnico di Milano in 1928 (he received his degree in architecture from the IUAV in 1949). While a student he became involved in the Italian Modern Movement, but his work drew from diverse sources and his designs were often strikingly ahead of their time. Both his architecture and his design work are nonetheless characterised by their elegant simplicity and refinement of detail. Gardella was closely involved in the CIAM, and in the context of design, founded the Azucena Agency with Luigi Caccia Dominioni. The numerous prizes he won include the Premio Nazionale di Olivetti for architecture (1955), the 1977 Medaglia d'oro del Presidente della Repubblica ai benemeriti della Scuola, della Cultura e dell'Arte and the 1996 Leone d'Oro alla carriera dalla Biennale di Venezia.