Andrea Branzi

Olivari Designers

MILANO, 1938 – 2023

After graduating from Architecture in Florence, Branzi founds Archizoom, a radical group known for its visionary projects (No-Stop City, 1966) and anti-design for Poltronova (the Superondasofa, 1967 and the Mies armchair, 1970).

—”Andrea Branzi, Open Enclosures”, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, 2008 (courtesy Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain)

In 1975 he cofounds the CDM studio for design research. Branzi opens a studio in 1982 to design products and conduct research for companies like Memphis and Vitra.

A theoretician of design, exhibition curator, author, and director of the magazine Modo, Branzi founds the Domus Academy in Milan and then becomes a full professor at the Milan Polytechnic.

— Berione libreria, Cassina 1988 (ph studio Marconi)
—Blister vaso, Design Gallery 2004

These activities lead to awarding him a Golden Compass Award for his career and an Honorary Degree from Rome’s La Sapienza University.