l: ettore sottsass
r: superbox, 1965 for poltronova

was born in innsbrück, austria in 1917, in 1939 he graduated in architecture from
politecnico of turin. he started out on his professional career, working with his father,
the architect ettore sottsass sr.,an important figure in italian rationalism. immediately
after the war he moved to milan, where he set up a studio to deal with architectual
and design projects. in 1958 he started to work with olivetti as design consultant
for more than than twenty years and designed numerious items, which now form part
of permanent collections of museums such as the moma in new york,
the centre george pompidou in paris, the denver art museum and
the israel museum in jerusalem. this work was to gain him four 'compassi d'oro'.
he continued to devote time to design culture, taking part in projects aimed at
renewing the language of contemporary design. this research was to lead to the
creation of several hundreds of objects, mostly one-off, exhibited at various personal
shows in international galleries and museums.

designboom met ettore sottsass in his studio in milan the 07.09.2000.

db: where do you work on your designs and projects?
I think of designs when I am in the bathroom, or on the phone, or sitting at any table.
i don’t have any particular place. but everyone has a place they like
more than others, where you feel calmer, which is home.
I don’t design at my studio. there are too many people there.



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