an avid skier, race car driver and aeroplane pilot, mollino
fell naturally into turin's lively cultural scene between
the two wars, where he forged friendships with many
of its protagonists. in his own projects, alongside an
admirable technical rigour and particular attention to the
functional aspect of things, there would invariably be
a close dialogue between elements of modernity and
a strong sensitivity toward the antique. between 1933
and 1973, the year of his unexpected passing, he
realised only a dozen architectural works in all.
noteworthy among his masterpieces:the società ippica
torinese (1937-1940), where rationalism exalts
and magnifies metaphysical elements; the sledge-lift
station of lago nero (1946 – 1947) wherein the
traditional typology of Alpine construction is
re-elaborated in unprecedented forms; the new
teatro regio di torino (1965 – 1973), the interior of which
mollino himself described as being inspired by
'a form halfway between an egg and a partially
opened oyster'.

equally important was his work designing interiors.
his casa miller (1936) and casa devalle (1939-40)
were conceived with decidedly surrealist taste.
in 1949 he began teaching in the faculty of architecture
of the politecnico di torino, and was invited the
following year to participate in a show that was
travelling to eleven american museums. mollino would
never design anything for big industry. the majority of
his furniture are one-offs. the most prolific years of
his professional career were cruelly interrupted in
december 1953 by the death of his father, eugenio.

his activity as an architect was suspended in favour
of his passions for auto racing and stunt flying.
in 1954 he designed the nube d'argento (‘silver cloud'),
a display vehicle for the national gas company, and
the next year created among others a competition
vehicle, the bisiluro (‘twin torpedo'), which would
participate that same year in the le mans 24 hour race.
he later designed two speed-record vehicles which
never got past the model phase. in 1960 mollino returned
to architecture and began fixing up his home on
via napione in turin, today the casa mollino museum.
as a writer, we know mollino through numerous essays
and books that range from fiction to architecture, from
skiing technique to photography criticism, most notably
messaggio dalla camera oscura (’message from the
darkroom'), written in 1943 and published 1949.
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SEE MORE


GAM EXHIBITION
museum of modern &
contemporary art,
turin
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PHOTO EXHIBITION
castello di rivoli,
turin
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BISILURO
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OSCA
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RACING CAR
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CURATOR
fulvio & napoleone ferrari
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ARABESCHI BOOK
by fulvio & napoleone ferrari

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