The history of design and architecture lived through four unique women.
Femininity in design has always been a precious element that has led to contaminations in the world of design and architecture.
Charlotte Perriard in the 1920s represents the first woman in the world of modern design.
She’s able to make a unique feat at the time: collaborating with the most famous atelier, namely that of the famous architect and designer Le Curbusier. The beginning is not the easiest but Charlotte has the courage to resist until everyone is convinced.
Thanks to a free mentality and a clean design, she creates solutions that are sometimes clear and sometimes influenced by his Japanese experiences.
Furnishings such as LC7, Les Arcs, 522 Tokyo are still current and of a disarming beauty.
Lina Bo Bardi in 1940 began to collaborate with important Milanese architects such as Ponti and Pagani.
She then creates a magazine (A-culture of life) to communicate the concept of rational living to an ever wider audience.
An eclectic figure who sees her as a protagonist in various fields: from architecture, to design, from publishing to education.
According to her, the architect does not have to build well, but to know and understand how most people live. Thanks to this thought, he is able to provide solutions for designing and living.
The Bowl Chair produced by Arper and the Zig Zag armchair are two of her masterpieces.
Cini Boeri, in the 1960s, represents women’s emancipation as an architect.
She starts at Giò Ponti and then opens his own studio focused on living and furnishings. She has the courage to test and use new materials such as plastic or rubber.
Multipurpose products are born from its versatility and productivity.
She designs one-of-a-kind pieces such as Lunario (Knoll), the Ghost armchair (Fiam) up to winning the famous Compasso d’Oro with the Strips sofa by Arflex.
We then come to the “Lady of Architecture”, Gae Aulenti.
She characterizes the history of modern architecture with a style that goes beyond national borders.
What launches her on the international scene is the collaboration with Olivetti for which she designs the showrooms.
She is active in the field of architecture, design, space planning, but all her projects have a common denominator: communicating through form.
This takes the form of unique design objects such as the Table with Wheels for Fontana Arte, the Parola lamp that she designs with Castiglioni and the vases for Venini.
On March 8th, Women’s Day, Oltremateria pays homage to four women who have written the Italian and world history of architecture and design.
Oltremateria wishes to celebrate this important anniversary and offer all women the best wishes for their day!
