Mario Bellini

Book excerpt: The first comprehensive monograph on Mario Bellini, one of Italy's most versatile and influential designers. A key figure in the emergence of Italy as an important centre fore design in the 1960's, Mario Bellini is renowned for his elegant, dramatic and often poetic designs for, among others, Olivetti, Cassina, B&B Italia, Vitra and Artemide. He was the subject of a one man retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in 1987, the recipient of eight prestigious Compasso d'Oro industrial design awards, the Editor–in–Chief of the influential architecture and design magazine Domus (1986–91) and continues to produce architecture and design for clients and locations all over the world. Features: – Richly illustrated with over 500 images including sketches and photographs from Mario Bellini's archive, opened publicly for the first time. – A complete catalogue of Bellini's design work, thematically presented, from calculators, typewriters, office and banking machines, to chairs, tables, sofas, and lighting. Features a series of essays, including an interview with Mario Bellini, covering the various aspects of his career and design processes.