Prospettiva Olivetti
25th February 2025, at the ABA Gallery
19:00-21:00
Tickets in advance: Docomomo UK non-members: £13.70 incl fees
Tickets on the door: Docomomo UK non-members: £15
Tickets for Docomomo UK members: free
Due to the length of the film, the introduction may start shortly before 19.00.
Links for remote digital viewing will be sent out shortly before the event. Note that registration for digital attendance will finish at 17.00 on the day.
PROSPETTIVA OLIVETTI
Ivrea was recognised as a “20th century industrial city” by UNESCO in 2018, the theme of industrial culture and the uniqueness of the Olivetti model focuses mainly on the figure and legacy of the entrepreneur and leader Adriano Olivetti.
A question arose after the death of its founder, Adriano Olivetti. Olivetti had been a business enterprise with a strong identity capable of renewing a whole industrial culture, from product design to work spaces, from corporate welfare to cultural programmes, under the clear guide of its leader. What would happened after he suddenly passed away?
Architecture, the space of human life, was for Adriano Olivetti an irreplaceable tool for the creation of communities. Ivrea and the surrounding Canavese territory were the main fields of action of an industrial policy characterised by strong social responsibility.
With the death of Adriano Olivetti, and the dissolution of the cultural and political project of Community, its ethical legacy was not abandoned, but evolved to face the impact of the upcoming period of rapid international expansion. The challenge was taken up by the company who led the realisation around the world of factories, offices and showrooms to form the corporate identity, designed by the masters of the international architectural stage: Gae Aulenti, BBPR, James Stirling and Eduard Cullinan, Louis Kahn, Egon Eiermann, Kenzo Tange, Federico Correa and Alfonso Milá.
This is a journey through the Olivetti buildings in Italy and abroad, from the 60s to the 80s, telling the stories of the protagonists with the extraordinary archival materials shared by the company.
directed by: Davide Maffei
produced by: Serena Mignani
co-produced by: AirPixel, Imago Orbis
shooting and photography: Alessandro Barbieri, Nicola Xella, Davide Maffei
original music and post-production: Alessandro Barbieri
editing: Davide Maffei
production manager: Pietro Cesari