Vittoriano Viganò
For Vittoriano Viganò all design practices shared the same similarities, being vehicles for human development and a social commitment to improve the quality of life for all. Bridging various scales: from industrial design to architecture, from interior design to urban planning, Viganò’s multidisciplinary talent has acquired international resonance, unanimously considered by critics the most important Italian exponent of the ‘Brutalism’ current. Growing up in a creative environment as the son of the painter and engraver Vico Viganò, Vittoriano would himself turn towards architecture during his studies, graduating from the Politecnico di Milano in 1944. When opening his studio, he started a close cooperation with his friend Gino Sarfatti, first as advisor and later as Art Director of Arteluce, the company founded by Sarfatti. During this time, he designed the flagship store in Via della Spiga in Milan and made important design contributions to Arteluce, such as the VV Cinquanta family of luminaires with metal cones projecting ambient light along articulated arms. In 1991 the San Luca Academy awarded him the Italian Republic President Prize for Architecture.