Zanuso, Marco

▪ 2002

      Italian architect and industrial designer (b. May 14, 1916, Milan, Italy—d. July 11, 2001, Milan), helped to revolutionize post-World War II furniture and appliance design, bringing innovative contemporary styling to mass-produced consumer products through his use of sculptural shapes, bright colours, and modern synthetic materials, including tubular steel, acrylics, latex foam, fibreglass, foam rubber, and injection-molded plastics. Several of his award-winning product designs eventually were included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. As an architect, Zanuso designed housing as well as factories and offices in Italy, Argentina, Brazil, and South Africa. His major commissions in Milan, where he was a member of the city planning commission, included the renovation of the Teatro Fossati and the construction of the nearby Piccolo Teatro. Zanuso edited the influential design magazines Domus (1947–49) and Casabella (1952–54), taught architecture and design at the Milan Polytechnic from the 1960s, and served (1957–59 and 1966–74) as president of the Italian Association of Industrial Design.

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