Rossi, Aldo

Rossi, Aldo (äl`dō rôs`sē), 1931–97, Italian architectb. Milan; grad. Milan Polytechnic (1959). He began working for the design magazine Casabella-Continuità in 1954 and became its editor a decade later. His book The Architecture of the City (1966, tr. 1982) is a classic of modern architectural theory. Rossi is noted for the timeless quality of his designs. and his buildings, which are largely reduced to their geometrical essentials, skillfully exploit the lively interplay of light and shadow. His best-known projects include the cemetery of San Cataldo, Modena (begun 1971); a floating theater at the 1980 Venice Biennale; the Palazzo Hotel, Fukuoka, Japan (1989); the Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, the Netherlands (1994); and the Disney Development Corp., Celebration, Fla. (1995). Rossi also designed furniture and household items and taught at the Architecture Institute in Venice and several American universities. He was awarded the 1990 Pritzker Prize.

Bibliography

See his A Scientific Autobiography (1981); A. Ferlenga, ed., Aldo Rossi: The Life and Works of an Architect (2001).