In the years 1984 to 1986, I studied industrial design at Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan, and for this reason I lived in Milan. I left Barcelona just as its postmodern euphoria began, directly linked to its pre-Olympic phase. While I was living in Milan, all the architecture and design events came from Barcelona.

At Scuola Politecnica, founded by Nino Di Salvatore in 1954, the trend was exactly the opposite. A philosophy that wanted to promote and promoted design closely linked to the industry. Giulio Carlo Argan in 1968 defined it as a school with a critical and strictly scientific method. And, at the same time, with a social and democratic purpose. In an article by Olga Spiegel in La Vanguardia on January 15, 1985, Di Salvatore stated: "Design causes social peace and, in this sense, it is a political force".

The professors, in addition to Director Nino Di Salvatore, were among others Attilio Marcoli, Bruno Munari, Augusto Garau, Narciso Silvestrini and Alberto Rosselli. In fact, still today one of the classrooms at the SPD is dedicated to Mr. Rosselli. Obviously, I didn't have Rosselli as a teacher.

Between 1966 and 1976, Alberto Rosselli worked at Saporiti Italia with Sergio Saporiti, with whom he created extremely radical and iconic products that were ahead of the times and created an aura of anticipation of the future.
The pioneers of post-war Italian architecture and design created the pillars and a structure that, like a DNA sequence, forms the basis that sustains and shapes the Design Project as I imagine it.
This structure, that articulates the contemporary design project is represented in the 100+1 Exhibition by means of a longitudinal sequence, like a vertebral column, made up of his drawings, magazines, studies, sketches, reflections which, occupying the center of the building, supports and protects the contents of the ADI museum and the museum itself.

Exactly like methodology used by Rosselli to organize the foundations of ADI, in such a solid and consistent way, that ADI itself and Italian industrial design continue today to have the same relevance and vital force.

Marti Guixé, 2022


Link to the exhibit
Link to the Auction

Cento+1. Alberto Rosselli x Saporiti Italia
A journey between past and present throughout the work of Alberto Rosselli, one of the masters of Italian design, art director of Saporiti Italia from 1966 to 1976. Curated by Federica Sala. Set Design by Martí Guixé

ADI Design Museum
Piazza Compasso d'Oro 1-Milano
07.10 — 30.10.2022
Opening 07.10.22 18h

©Saporiti Italia, Foto Giorgio Giovara
Drawings Martí Guixé