English
DOMUS 1928-1999
A Privileged Insight into Architecture and Design
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We have remained faithful to the original layouts, organizing the selected pages chronologically, with decade title spreads (showing all the magazine's covers) dividing up the years to assist with orientation.We have also included some of the original advertising to contextualize the featured articles, which is graphically interesting in its own right. The end result condenses the original material (which requires about 20 meters of wall-space) into twelve volumes without (we hope) compromising the integrity of the 72 years of domus' history featured here. The selection process was revelatory: from the surprising formal richness of the 1940s to the experimental exuberance of the early 1970s. Equally interesting was the Milanese design community's rejection of stylistically restrictive movements, and its tireless promotion of lifestyle within the pages of domus, dubbed the "Mediterranean megaphone." This relaxed and informal Italian approach to domestic design became a model for the international design community in the 1950s.
Introductory Essays by Illustrious Editors
In addition to our selection of highlights, two introductory essays accompany each volume. The first outlines the history of domus for the specific period it covers; the second, which functions more as a personal reminiscence, is written by one of domus's illustrious ex-editors about their time at the helm, or by one of the magazine's most important contributors, such as Lisa Licitra Ponti and Ettore Sottsass Jr. There are also newly created sublines that provide key caption data as well as information concerning text continuations, original translations, and newly translated texts, which the reader will find in the annex. Significantly, many articles have been translated into English for the very first time. Each volume has a comprehensive index, including both designers' and manufacturers' names. In conjunction with the master index on CD, this will prove an invaluable research tool.
An Idea Still Valid Today
Working alongside the editorial team at domus, we have come to appreciate its goal of showing the highest quality work from around the world, illustrated and explained by the best photographers and writers. Beyond this we have come to understand the journal's search for a philosophy rather than a theory of design that offers a highly intellectual yet non-prescriptive agenda for its practice. At domus, design encompasses everything - "from the spoon to the city" - and to be worthy of inclusion on its pages, a project must have graceful beauty, practical function, spatial clarity, intellectual persuasion, and/or relevant originality. Gio Ponti's vision of a forum for important design and architecture is therefore still firmly rooted in the ethos of domus. This idea has lasted because the magazine continues to be infused with both a deeply held passion for excellence in man-made objects, and an overriding belief that these interlocking disciplines have crucial political responsibilities that should transcend the vagaries of fashion and enrich our world.
Page [1] [2]
Page [1] [2]
We have remained faithful to the original layouts, organizing the selected pages chronologically, with decade title spreads (showing all the magazine's covers) dividing up the years to assist with orientation.We have also included some of the original advertising to contextualize the featured articles, which is graphically interesting in its own right. The end result condenses the original material (which requires about 20 meters of wall-space) into twelve volumes without (we hope) compromising the integrity of the 72 years of domus' history featured here. The selection process was revelatory: from the surprising formal richness of the 1940s to the experimental exuberance of the early 1970s. Equally interesting was the Milanese design community's rejection of stylistically restrictive movements, and its tireless promotion of lifestyle within the pages of domus, dubbed the "Mediterranean megaphone." This relaxed and informal Italian approach to domestic design became a model for the international design community in the 1950s.
Introductory Essays by Illustrious Editors
In addition to our selection of highlights, two introductory essays accompany each volume. The first outlines the history of domus for the specific period it covers; the second, which functions more as a personal reminiscence, is written by one of domus's illustrious ex-editors about their time at the helm, or by one of the magazine's most important contributors, such as Lisa Licitra Ponti and Ettore Sottsass Jr. There are also newly created sublines that provide key caption data as well as information concerning text continuations, original translations, and newly translated texts, which the reader will find in the annex. Significantly, many articles have been translated into English for the very first time. Each volume has a comprehensive index, including both designers' and manufacturers' names. In conjunction with the master index on CD, this will prove an invaluable research tool.
An Idea Still Valid Today
Working alongside the editorial team at domus, we have come to appreciate its goal of showing the highest quality work from around the world, illustrated and explained by the best photographers and writers. Beyond this we have come to understand the journal's search for a philosophy rather than a theory of design that offers a highly intellectual yet non-prescriptive agenda for its practice. At domus, design encompasses everything - "from the spoon to the city" - and to be worthy of inclusion on its pages, a project must have graceful beauty, practical function, spatial clarity, intellectual persuasion, and/or relevant originality. Gio Ponti's vision of a forum for important design and architecture is therefore still firmly rooted in the ethos of domus. This idea has lasted because the magazine continues to be infused with both a deeply held passion for excellence in man-made objects, and an overriding belief that these interlocking disciplines have crucial political responsibilities that should transcend the vagaries of fashion and enrich our world.
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domus 1928-1999, vol. I-XII
Hardcover, 12 vol. + INDEX CD 8.6 x 12.4 in., 6960 pages
$ 700.00
$ 700.00
Seven decades of domus: the best of the best in 12 volumes, 7,000 pages and 20,000 images
The space used in Gio Ponti's Via Dezza studio by the small editorial staff of domus magazine. In the photo: Lisa Licitra Ponti and Enrichetta Ritter, c. 195