EnglishIcons of modern design and architecture, the 20th century masters shaped history with their visionary approach. Revisit their major works, enduring legacy, and lasting influence on contemporary creation.
In the spring of 1929, in Barcelona, Germany opened its pavilion at the International Exposition. No showcases, no products for sale: just planes of travertine, green marble and golden onyx, glass walls, a roof that seems to float on slender chrome columns, a pool and a statue of a woman by Georg Kolbe. In the…
In a photograph by Giorgio Casali, a child lifts a chair with the tip of a single finger. The chair weighs one point seven kilograms. It is called the Superleggera, “super light”, and Cassina has been making it since 1957. Its designer, Gio Ponti, spent his life proving that things could be lighter, brighter and…
In October 1927, a twenty-four-year-old woman walked into Le Corbusier’s studio on the rue de Sèvres with a portfolio under her arm. The architect sent her away with a line that became famous: “We don’t embroider cushions here.” A few weeks later, at the Salon d’Automne, he saw the “Bar sous le toit” she had…
Fallingwater, the Prairie Houses, the Guggenheim: why Frank Lloyd Wright is the father of modern American architecture, and what his interiors still teach us.
In the history of twentieth-century design, only a handful of iconic designers truly changed the way we think about domestic space. Verner Panton was one of them. Born in Denmark in 1926, he reshaped the experience of interiors by turning away from Scandinavian restraint and embracing colour, curvature, and bold expression. Where others chose discretion,…
Dessau, 1925. A young carpentry master at the Bauhaus rides his new Adler bicycle through town and keeps looking down at the handlebars. If a factory could bend steel tube that lightly and that strongly, why not a chair? Within months, Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) had built one of the first pieces of furniture in bent…
Arne Jacobsen: The History of Danish Design In the hushed lobby of Copenhagen’s SAS Royal Hotel in 1960, a silent revolution takes place. Travelers discover for the first time furniture with unprecedented organic forms, sculpted like protective cocoons in the bustle of the modern world. These revolutionary creations bear the signature of Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971),…
Le Corbusier Paris, 1925. Dans son atelier de la rue de Sèvres, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, dit Le Corbusier, dessine l’avenir de l’architecture moderne. Révolutionnaire suisse naturalisé français, cet homme au nœud papillon noir ne se contente pas de concevoir des bâtiments : il réinvente l’art de vivre au XXe siècle. Architecte, urbaniste, peintre et théoricien, Le…
Joe Colombo Design: Let’s get modular ! A true star designer of the 60s, Joseph “Joe” Colombo was one of the most innovative Italian designers of the 20th century. Despite a career cut short by his death at the age of 41, he left a profound imprint on the history of contemporary design. Through his…
Ingo Maurer (1932–2019) was a visionary German lighting designer often referred to as a poet of light. He transformed illumination into an art form, blending function, fantasy, and emotion in ways that redefined the role of lighting in interior and product design. His work goes far beyond conventional lighting, it tells stories, evokes wonder, and…
Madeleine Castaing (1894-1992) remains one of the most emblematic figures of 20th-century French decoration. This legendary decorator revolutionized the French art of living by developing an eclectic style of absolute sophistication, becoming the essential reference of Parisian elegance. An undisputed master of mixing eras and styles, she wielded infallible taste that transcended conventions. Her non-conformist…
Alvar Aalto: Nordic humanism in service of total design In the frozen landscape of 1920s Finland, a young architect sketched the outlines of a silent revolution. Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) did not merely build: he rethought human habitat in its entirety, from the spoon to the city. Architect, urban planner, designer and even glassmaker, this Finnish…
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