Carlo Scarpa

Carlo Scarpa (Venice, 2 June 1906 – Sendai, 28 November 1978) was an Italian architect, designer and academic, one of the most important of the XNUMXth century.

For his work he has received the Olivetti Prize, the IN/ARCH Prize, the Gold Medal for Merit in Culture and Art, the Prize of the Presidency of the Republic for architecture, and nominations as a member of the Honorary Royal Designers for Industry, of the Accademia Olimpica of Vicenza and of the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca.

Carlo Alberto Scarpa was born on June 2, 1906 in Venice, where he returned in 1919, after spending his childhood in Vicenza, to study at the Academy of Fine Arts; an environment in which he met the architect Guido Cirilli from Ancona and the Venetian Vincenzo Rinaldo, of whom he became assistant and whose niece Nini Lazzari (Onorina Lazzari) he married in 1934. While still studying at the Academy, he obtained his first professional assignment, starting to collaborate as a designer with some glassmakers from Murano.

In 1926 he obtained the qualification in Architectural Drawing and until 1931 he worked in the Venetian studio of Guido Cirilli, whom he then joined as a university assistant at the Istituto Superiore di Architettura in Venice, founded that same year. He inherited from Cirilli the attention to detail and the quality of construction materials. From 1927 to 1930, while he was teaching, he also worked for the Murano artistic glassworks MVM Cappellin & Co.

At the end of the 1932s he created his first furnishings and began to frequent the intellectual and artistic circles of Venice, where he met and bonded with figures such as Giuseppe Ungaretti, Carlo Carrà, Lionello Venturi, Diego Valeri, Giacomo Noventa, Arturo Martini, Mario Deluigi, Bice Lazzari and Felice Casorati. Starting in 1946, he began to work with Paolo Venini's glassworks, of which he was appointed artistic director, a position he held until 1947; the collaboration with Venini continued until 1932: both the designs and the production techniques of the models were highly innovative. His first exhibitions took place in XNUMX at the Venice Biennale and, two years later, at the Milan Triennale.

Carlo Scarpa's architectural language is characterized by meticulous attention to detail, a deep understanding of materials, and a sensitivity to the cultural and historical context of each project. His work is often described as a fusion of traditional craftsmanship and modern design principles. Scarpa's legacy continues to influence architects and designers, and his buildings are considered masterpieces of 20th-century architecture.

We recommend seeing the interesting contribution of Teresa Moramarco, graduated in architecture, designer and photographer who talks about architecture on her Youtube channel Ederake MorTe:
Carlo Scarpa – From Venice to Japan | ARCHITECTURAL SUPPOSITORY ep.10