19

17

born in Innsbruck, Austria

39

Young Ettore Sottsass reads a newspaper smoking a cigarette
Created with Sketch.

i make no special difference between architecture and design, they are two different stages of invention. —ettore sottsass

A schematic architectural sketch

Sketch for Casa Wolf (1987–89). © Sottsass Associati.

typewriters

From 1958 into the 1960s, Sottsass worked for the Olivetti company on the design of typewriters and other office equipment. In his first year, he designed Tekne 3, a typewriter, and was part of the team that produced the first Italian mainframe computer, Elea 9003, for which he, Mario Tschou and Roberto Olivetti won the Compasso d’Oro. But Sottsass’ real hit was Valentine, the bright red portable typewriter that he called “a simple little toy.”

It could be used anywhere outside the office, he thought, with “no suggestion of the monotony of work.” He saw it as being used by “aspiring poets on quiet Sundays in the country” and as “a vivid object on a table in a city apartment.”

 

 

Grey Olivetti Tekne 3 typewriter, frontal view, close-up
Grey Olivetti Tekne 3 typewriter, side view