Gino Levi-Montalcini (1902-1972) architect, designer, artist, lecturer
Luigino “Gino” Levi was born in Milan in 1902. Along with his distinguished sisters, Gino took the surname Levi-Montalcini. He studied in Turin, taking lessons in drawing and sculpture during high school and graduating in architecture from the Royal School of Engineering (Polytechnic of Turin) in 1925. Through the 1920s Levi-Montalcini was part of a circle of intellectuals, artists, and architects that would help shape modern Italy, among them fellow architect Giuseppe Pagano with whom he formed a professional relationship. From 1928-1930 the two architects worked on creating the Palazzo Gualino office building on Milan’s Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. With its distinctive symmetrical design that melded classical and modern elements, the Gualino building was acclaimed as one of the first examples of rationalist architecture in Italy. For its interior, Levi-Montalcini designed 67 pieces of furniture, incorporating traditional materials such as wood and leather together with new industrial ones such as chromium-plated glass and a cellulose-based product called Buxus. Strikingly geometric and perfectly proportioned, the unified look of the furniture beautifully exemplified the rationalist aesthetic. In 1930 Domus Magazine devoted an entire issue to the Gualino project, helping to position Levi-Montalcini as a leading figure of the rationalist movement. That same year, Pagano moved his practice to Milan, while Levi-Montalcini remained in Turin.
The 1930s were highly prolific for Levi-Montalcini as he continued taking on decidedly modern projects, such as the Bardonecchia health colony in Turin, the planning of the city’s new Via Roma, and several prominent villas. He participated in the Milan Triennials with furnishings, fittings, and design concepts, and collaborated on the magazine Casabella. During the war years, Levi-Montalcini married Maria Gattone and relocated to Florence, changing his name to avoid persecution. In 1946 he returned to Turin, rejoining with Giuseppe Pagano to tackle the challenge of post-war reconstruction with urban planning and housing. He also embarked on an academic career at Turin Polytechnic lecturing in architectural composition (1948-1956). A rigorous researcher, Levi-Montalcini concretized his architectural ideas and theories in collaborative projects, including the New Airport of Genoa (1947), the Chivasso power plant (1950), the new urban district of Vallette (1957), as well as the main building of the University of Turin (1959). He also designed furnishings for important public buildings in Turin, such as the Press Headquarters, and commercial spaces such as the Borletti shop in Galleria San Federico.
Levi-Montalcini continued his academic career as Professor of Architecture at the University of Palermo (1956-1964), and of Engineering at the University of Padua (1964-1971). In 1969 he became president of the Council of the Order of Architects of Turin, and in 1971 returned to the now University of Turin as Chair of Architectural Composition. He died in Turin in 1974 at the age of 72. Throughout his architectural and design career, Gino Levi-Montalcini had remained an active sculptor, portraitist, and caricaturist, and after his death his works were exhibited in various European cities. His furniture designs, meanwhile, have become highly collectible.
Collections
MoMA New York
Centre Pompidou Paris
Publications
Gino Levi Montalcini. Architetture, disegni e scritti, Editore: CELID, 2003
Architettura D’Oggi, Nervi, Cosenza, Marescotti, Levi-Montalcini, Quaroni, Uaroni Astengo, Editore: Vallecchi (Collezione Del Viesseux, Volume n°2), 1955
