Architect · Italy · 1927-2020
Vittorio Gregotti Biography, Buildings and Best Books
Italian architect, planner and theorist (1927-2020), author of Il territorio dell’architettura and of the Belém Cultural Centre in Lisbon and the ZEN district in Palermo.
Photo: Niccolò Caranti, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Biography
Vittorio Gregotti (1927-2020) was an Italian architect, urban planner and theorist. His book Il territorio dell’architettura (1966) extended architecture to the scale of landscape and territory, and his firm Gregotti Associati built large projects such as the ZEN housing district in Palermo, the University of Calabria, the Belém Cultural Centre in Lisbon and the Teatro degli Arcimboldi in Milan. He edited Casabella from 1982 to 1996.
Novara and Milan
Gregotti was born in Novara in 1927 and graduated from the Politecnico di Milano in 1952. He worked with Ernesto Nathan Rogers on Casabella-continuità and in the 1960s took part in the debates of the Neo-Liberty and Tendenza.
Territory and large projects
Il territorio dell’architettura argued for architecture as the transformation of the landscape. In 1974 he founded Gregotti Associati, which designed the ZEN district in Palermo, the University of Calabria in Cosenza, the renovation of the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona and, with Manuel Salgado, the Belém Cultural Centre in Lisbon (1992).
Milan and writing
In Milan the firm planned the Bicocca district and built the Teatro degli Arcimboldi (2002). Gregotti edited Casabella from 1982 to 1996 and wrote many books, including Inside Architecture. He died in Milan in 2020.
Inside Architecture
A short collection of Gregotti’s reflections on the discipline of architecture, translated into English.
View on AmazonTimeline
- 1927Born on 10 August in Novara.
- 1952Graduates from the Politecnico di Milano.
- 1966Publishes Il territorio dell’architettura.
- 1974Founds Gregotti Associati.
- 1982Becomes editor of Casabella.
- 1992Belém Cultural Centre opens in Lisbon.
- 2002Teatro degli Arcimboldi opens in Milan.
- 2020Dies on 15 March in Milan.
Best Books on Vittorio Gregotti
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Vittorio Gregotti known for?
Vittorio Gregotti is known for his book Il territorio dell’architettura, the Belém Cultural Centre in Lisbon, the ZEN district in Palermo, the University of Calabria and the Teatro degli Arcimboldi in Milan.
What is Il territorio dell’architettura?
A 1966 book in which Gregotti argued that architecture should be understood as the transformation of the landscape and territory.
What is the best book by Vittorio Gregotti?
Inside Architecture (MIT Press) is a short collection of his reflections in English.
