Ettore Sottsass

Architect

Birthday September 14, 1917

Birth Sign Virgo

Birthplace Austria

DEATH DATE Dec 31, 2007 (90)

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About

Created furniture, typewriters, jewelry, and lighting fixtures in the 20th century; helped design the first Italian mainframe computer, the Elea 9003, which won the 1959 Compasso d'Oro; known for his work as a design consultant for Olivetti.

Before Fame

He attended the Polytechnic University of Turin, from which he graduated with an architecture degree in 1939. He was captured in World War II after enlisting in the Italian military; he was imprisoned in a Yugoslavian concentration camp.

Trivia

He authored "The Curious Mr. Sottsass: Photographing Design and Desire" in 1997.

Family Life

He was raised in Milan, where his father worked as an architect.

Associated With

He and some fellow architects were listening to Bob Dylan's "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again" in 1981 when they decided to start a collective called the Memphis Group. The group created 40 pieces of fluorescent artwork.