Franca Helg, who lived from 1920 to 1989, was one of the most famous architects and designers of the Italian XX Century. She graduated in 1945 from Politecnico di Milano, where, after a short experience at IUAV in Venice, she also taught architectural composition, first as a Ludovico Barbiano di Belgiojoso tutor and then as a full professor in 1984. She started her professional career immediately after graduating, working in BBPR Studio. In 1951, she started working as an associate architect at the Albini Architectural Firm, which later became Albini-Helg. As a scholar and architect, she often travelled in South America and Spain, but also in Africa and Saudi Arabia.

Selected Travels: South America, USA, Spain, Saudi Arabia

Selected Works: Forniture System of the Milanese underground - Line M -, Milan (1963)

Selected Bibliography:
Piva, A., Prina, V. (edited by) (2006), Franca Helg. "La gran dama dell'architettura italiana", Milano: Franco Angeli
Galbani, A. M. (2001), Donne Politecniche. Atti del Convegno e Catalogo della Mostra. Milano, 22 maggio 2000, Milano: Libri Sheiwiller

Lived from 1893 till 1982 in Milan, Italy, Giovanni Muzio was an architect and one of the most iconic figures of the Italian Architectural Movement Novecento, which, along with the Rationalist movement, characterised Italian architecture in the 1920s and 1930s. He studied engineering at Collegio Ghisleri in Pavia before starting his architectural studies in 1912 at Politecnico di Milano. He was appointed Full Professor in Architectural Composition at the Faculty of Architecture in Politecnico di Torino (1935-1951) and in Architettura edilizia at the Faculty of Engineering in Politecnico di Milano (1951-1963). He also taught Urban Design at the Faculty of Architecture in Politecnico di Milano (1935-1963). His architectural career started in 1919 and lasted for almost seventy years. He actively worked as an urban designer in Italy and abroad designing and building some of the most iconic Milanese architecture of the XX century.

Selected travels: France, Germany, Portugal, Syria, Jordan

Selected works: Housing Complex Cà Brutta Milan (1922); Palace of the Art, Triennale, Milan (1932-1933); Newspapers’ Palace, Palazzo dell’Informazione, Milan (1938-1940)

Selected bibliography: Gambirasio, G. (1982), Giovanni Muzio. Opere e Scritti, Milano: Franco Angeli
Canella, G. (1980) “Struttura e tradizione architettonica. Incontro con Giovanni Muzio”, in Hinterland n. 13-14, p. 36
Gambirasio, G., Minardi, B. (1980), “Professore nel ‘900 lei era…”, Intervista con Giovanni Muzio, in Modo, n. 33, now in Gambirasio, G. (1982) Giovanni Muzio. Opere e Scritti Milano: Franco Angeli, p. 38

Lived from 1903 to 1973, Piero Bottoni was an Italian Architect and Urbanist protagonist of the Italian Movement Razionalismo.

He graduated in architecture in 1926. From 1929 to 1949, he was the Italian delegate to the International Congress of Modern Architecture (Ciam). He collaborated to write the Athens Charter in 1933, becoming one of the fathers of Urbanism in Italy. His teaching activities started thanks to Giovanni Muzio, who called him to collaborate at the Faculty of Architecture at Politecnico di Milano. For Political reasons, he was expelled from the Institution and restarted teaching only after the IIWW. From 1967, he was a full professor of Urban Planning at Politecnico di Milano. He was also the Chief Executive of the Milan Triennale, promoting, in 1945, the construction of the famous QT8, a new experimental neighborhood in Milan. During his career, he travelled extensively, especially with his students from Politecnico di Milano.

Selected Travels: Germany, Greece, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Poland, Japan

Selected Works: Ina Residential Building, Milan (1953-1958), Municipal Building in Sesto S. Giovanni, Milan (1960), Exhibition Pavilion at QT8, Milan (1951).

Selected Bibliography:
Tonon, G. (1995), Piero Bottoni. Una nuova antichissima bellezza. Scritti editi e inediti 1927-1973. Milano: Laterza
Consonni, G., Tonon, G. (2010) Piero Bottoni. Milano: Electa architettura.
Consonni G. et al. (1990) Piero Bottoni. Opera Completa. Milano: Fabbri.
Consonni, G., Meneghetti, L., Tonon, G. Bio-bibliografia. Online source Archivio Piero Bottoni, Politecnico di Milano – Dipartimento di Architettura e Studi Urbani.

Ernesto Nathan Rogers, who lived from 1909 to 1969, was an Italian architect and scholar whose theories significantly impacted the history of modern architecture. In 1932, he graduated in architecture at Politecnico di Milano, founding—in the same year—the architectural firm BBPR with his colleagues Ludovico Barbiano di Belgiojoso, Enrico Peressutti, and Gian Luigi Banfi. At Politecnico di Milano, he taught architectural composition but only became a full professor in 1964. Traveling was always at the core of his architectural production and teaching activities; he intensively promoted travel as a learning method among his students. He was invited to teach and lecture in South America, the USA, and countries of Northern Europe such as Norway and Finland.

Selected Travels: Northern Europe, USA, South America 

Selected Works: Velasca Tower, Milan (1955-1957), Sforzesco Castle Civic Collections, restoration and museum, Milan (1948-1957)

Selected Bibliography:
Baglione, C. (2012), Ernesto Nathan Rogers. 1909-1969, Milano: Franco Angeli
Tentori, F. (2005), "Un grande architetto ebreo", in Rassegna di Architettura e Urbanistica, n. 115/116, Gennaio-Agosto.
Tentori, F. (1970), Celebrazione di Ernesto Nathan Rogers. Discorso di Francesco Tentori. Trieste: Circolo della Cultura e delle Arti di Trieste.

Giò Ponti, who lived from 1891 to 1979, was an Italian architect and designer. After graduating in Architecture at the Regio Istituto Tecnico Superiore (then Politecnico di Milano) in 1921, he began his career by establishing an architectural firm with Mino Fiocchi and Emilio Lancia. In 1928, he founded the influential Domus Journal; in 1941, he founded Stile, another influential magazine published until 1947. He taught at Politecnico di Milano from 1936 to 1961. During his career, he extensively travelled and designed abroad, becoming one of the most iconic figures of the XX Century.

Selected Travels: Holland, Sweden, USA, South America, URRS

Selected Works:  Pirelli Office Buildings, Milano (1956-1960), "Nave" building Politecnico di Milano first Extension, Milan (1953-1960), S. Carlo Hospital Chapel Santa Maria Annunciata, Milan (1964-1966)

Selected Bibliography:
Licitra Ponti, L. (1990), Gio Ponti: L’opera, Milan: Leonardo
Irace, F. (2009), Gio Ponti, Milan: Motta Architettura
Irace, F., Manuela, L. (2009) "Itinerari. Ritratti dal professionismo milanese. Gio Ponti", in Itinerari di architettura milanese. L'architettura moderna come descrizione della città, a cura della Fondazione dell'Ordine degli architetti, pianificatori, paesaggisti e conservatori della provincia di Milano.

Ignazio Gardella, who lived from 1905 to 1982, was an Italian architect, engineer, and protagonist of the Italian Modern Movement, Razionalismo. He graduated in 1928 in engineering from Politecnico di Milano, where he also decided to pursue his studies in architecture meeting Franco Albini, Ludovico Barbiano di Belgiojoso, Ernesto Nathan Rogers and Giovanni Romano. However, he graduated only after the IIWW at IUAV - Istituto Universitario d'Architettura di Venezia where he also taught Architectural Composition from 1949 to 1975 under the invite of Giuseppe Samonà. From 1952 to 1956, with Samonà, Rogers, and Albini, he directed the CIAM Summer School hosting architects from twenty foreign countries. His architectural career started in 1933 when he was the director of his father's architectural design firm. During his career, he won prestigious national and international prizes. He travelled extensively, especially after the IIWW, visiting numerous countries in Europe and abroad.

Selected Travels: Germany, Northern Europe, USA

Selected Works: Tognella House- House in the Park, Milan (1947- 1954), PAC – Contemporary Art Pavilion, Milan (1966)

Selected Bibliography:
Argan, G.C. (1959). Ignazio Gardella. Milano: Edizioni di Comunità
Monestiroli, A. (1997). L'architettura secondo Gardella. Milano: Laterza
Monestiroli, A. (2009). Ignazio Gardella. Milano: Mondadori Electa.

Guido Canella, a towering figure in the Architectural Debate in Italy after the IIWW, lived from 1931 to 2009. He graduated from Politecnico di Milano in 1959, where he studied with Ernesto Nathan Rogers and Giuseppe Samonà. His teaching activities have spanned over fifty years, and he has had a distinguished professional career building some of the most iconic Milanese architectures of the second half of the XX Century. In 1961, he joined Francesco Tentori, Michele Achilli, Sergio Asti, and Gae Aulenti on a trip to the USSR organised by Gio Ponti for the Milanese Architectural Board. This travel widely impacted his work and research.

Selected Travels: URRS, South America

Selected Works: Segrate Municipal Building, Milan (1966)

Selected Bibliography: Bordogna, E., Canella, G., Manganaro, E. (2014) Guido Canella 1931-2009, Milano: Franco Angeli

Franco Marescotti, born in 1908, started his architectural career by working with Armando Brasini and later with Irenio Diotallevi. Together with Diotallevi, he ran the Diotallevi e Marescotti firm for more than twenty years. As a prominent figure in the Italian rationalist movement, he collaborated with Pagano on the editorial team of Casabella magazine, drawing attention to new building and construction systems such as standardize and prefabricated elements. 

His architectural work delved primarily into housing, interpreting it as the fundamental unit for the development of urban communities. He described it as a "house for one and infinite men." To deal with the problem of social housing, he examined various international case studies, including Ernst May's renowned project for the New Frankfurt and a series of experiments carried out in European cities as well as in the United States, such as Los Angeles, New Kensington, Pittsburgh, and Arizona. 

Selected Works: Grandi and Bertacchi Social Centre, Milan (1951-1953), Lampugnano Social Centre (1953-1955)

Selected Bibliography:
Gambirasio, G. (1982), Giovanni Muzio. Opere e Scritti, Milano: Franco Angeli
Canella, G. (1980) “Struttura e tradizione architettonica. Incontro con Giovanni Muzio”, in Hinterland n. 13-14, p. 36
Gambirasio, G., Minardi, B. (1980), “Professore nel ‘900 lei era…”, Intervista con Giovanni Muzio, in Modo, n. 33, now in Gambirasio, G. (1982) Giovanni Muzio. Opere e Scritti Milano: Franco Angeli, p. 38

Lived from 1919 to 1996, graduated in 1944 from the faculty of Architecture of Politecnico di Milano and specialised in reinforced-concrete constructions, Vittoriano Viganò was the Italian voice of the architectural stream neo-brutalism. His teaching activities started at Politecnico di Milano where he taught Interior Architecture, Interior Design and Architectural Composition under the direction of Gio Ponti. His professional career started with an internship at the BBPR architectural firm. In 1947, he opened his design firm. Working as Italian news correspondent for the Journals L'architecture d'Ajourd'houi and Aujourd'hui. Art et Architecture he was multiple times in Paris.

Selected Travels: France

Selected Works: Politecnico di Milano, Faculty of Architecture extension, Milan (1970 – 1983), Urban Development of Parco Sempione-Arco della Pace, Milan (1979-1987)

Selected Bibliography:
AA.VV. (1993). Vittoriano Viganò. A come architettura, Milano: Mondadori Electa
Rizzi, R., Averna, M. (2009) "Itinerari. Ritratti dal professionismo milanese. Vittoriano Viganò", in Itinerari di architettura milanese. L'architettura moderna come descrizione della città, a cura della Fondazione dell'Ordine degli architetti, pianificatori, paesaggisti e conservatori della provincia di Milano.

The first Grand Tour brought us to Italy, traveling to the cities of Milan, Bologna, Cesena, Pesaro, Modena and Parma. It was not only a unique opportunity to visit and experience extraordinary examples of architecture, but also the first in-person consortium meeting.

Gae Aulenti, an Italian architect and designer, lived from 1927 to 2012. She graduated in architecture from Politecnico di Milano in 1953, where she studied under Ernesto Nathan Rogers. In 1955, Rogers hired her as a graphic designer for the journal Casabella-Continuità. Aulenti also taught Architectural Composition as a tutor of Giuseppe Samonà at IUAV, Venice, and later with Ernesto Nathan Rogers at Politecnico di Milano. Throughout her career, she worked extensively as an architect and designer in Italy and abroad, frequently visiting South America, Europe, China, and the USA.

Selected Travels: South America, China, Europe

Selected Works: Milan, Piazzale Cadorna urban arrangement, Milan (1997-2000)

Selected Bibliography:
Artioli, N., Calamandrei, S. (2023). Gae Aulenti. China 1974. Milano, Humboldt Books.
AA.VV. (2021). Gae Aulenti. Vedere molto. Immaginare molto. Roma: Edizioni di Comunità