in memory of pietro derossi: look back at the late architect and designer's radical legacy

"Emblematic architect and designer Pietro Derossi passed away on September 5, 2025, at the age of 92. A pioneering figure of Italian radical design, the Turin-born visionary shaped contemporary culture with works ranging from the playful Pratone seat for Gufram to the influential nightlife interiors of the 1960s and 1970s. To honor his legacy, designboom looks back at Derossi's life and career - from his formative years to the milestones and iconic works that continue to inspire today."

"Born in Turin in 1933, Pietro Derossi studied at the Faculty of Architecture at the Polytechnic of Turin, where he graduated before beginning a lifelong dialogue between design practice and academic research. Early in his career, he combined professional projects with teaching, becoming a full professor of architectural design at the Polytechnic of Milan and later holding visiting and contract positions at leading institutions including the Architectural Association in London, Pratt Institute and Columbia University in New York, the Polytechnic of Lausanne, and the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin. His writings and projects were widely published in both Italian and international journals, establishing him as a voice of influence within the architectural discourse of his time."

"From the mid-1960s, Derossi's career took on a radical and collaborative direction with the founding of the Strum Group, alongside Giorgio Ceretti and Riccardo Rosso. They approached architecture and design as forms of social and political participation, challenging the conventions of modernism with an experimental and irreverent spirit. Derossi channeled this approach into the Italian nightlife scene, transforming venues such as the Piper Club in Turin and L'Altro Mondo in Rimini into radical laboratories of sound, light, and space."

Pietro Derossi was born in Turin in 1933 and died on September 5, 2025 at age 92. He graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the Polytechnic of Turin and sustained a lifelong dialogue between design practice and academic research. He combined professional projects with teaching, became a full professor of architectural design at the Polytechnic of Milan, and held visiting positions at leading institutions including the Architectural Association, Pratt, Columbia, the Polytechnic of Lausanne and the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin. He co-founded the Strum Group, embraced experimental, politically engaged design, transformed nightlife venues into sensory laboratories, produced iconic objects such as the Pratone for Gufram, and published widely, leaving a lasting influence on contemporary design and architecture.

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