War were trained as architects before the warö (11). Architect Gio Ponti said, ôIn Venice, God created only the water and the sky. The remainder was made by architectsö (Bornsen-Holtmann 9).
Finding themselves with few building projects, ItalyÆs architects turned to struggling manufacturers to help the industrialists climb back out from economic ruin. The movement began in Milan. Bornsen-Holtmann writes, ôDesigners from Milan have been in demand internationally ever since industry realised that beautifully designed products can be sold more easily and at higher prices than unattractive onesö (7).
The emphasis on architectural training did not come only from the architects themselves. As Parsons observes:
The push to achieve their status as international winners in the design sweepstakes came from Italy's business community. After World War II, the country's manufacturers tiny companies by American standards were looking to compete in a world market. What they saw were architects coming out of school unemployed. They decided to hire the young architects and make specializing in the highest quality of material and design their mission (19).
Architectural training and an eye for three-dimensional structure were an important component in the establishment of a uniquely Italian vision of design. Peter Dormer argues that post-World War II culture throughout the West reflected a mixture of cooperation and individualism (40). In Italy, the cooperation between designer and manufac
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