Gio Ponti and Carlo Mollino: Post-war Italian Architects and the Relevance of Their Work Today

More than the story of two architects, this is a book about creating architectural works inspired by living things. While waiting for a better fortune for the Italian people in the aftermath of the Second World War, Giò Ponti and Carlo Mollino, two architects and friends, tried countless ways to make an architectural work that was as vital and miraculous as living things--even though they knew it wasn't possible. Ponti and Mollino nevertheless attained a more modest ambition: from time to time, when all the conditions were "right," the inhabitants of their lively, animated works of architecture felt at home--with themselves, others, and their intimate, physical surroundings. The story of these two architects thus becomes an important foundation for the theory and practice of interaction design. Today, in unsettling times, the ambition of these two architects and friends suggest a viable and worthy prospect for making a lively architecture anticipating the needs, aspirations, and desires of contemporary life.