Ettore Sottsass archive: reconstructing processes

The Ettore Sottsass Jr. archive is a fragmented and dispersed reality, currently divided between several institutions. At present only a historical research study, together with the application of digital strategies and digitization practices, could (re)construct the archive as a complete and coherent network of projects and activities. An architect, designer, graphic designer, painter and photographer, from his earliest years Sottsass built a representation of himself. The archive has always been a fundamental element of this process. It is housed today at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, at the CSAC Università di Parma and the Bibliothèque Kandinsky of the Centre Pompidou in Paris. This intervention wishes to present an ongoing research study, promoted by the Università Iuav di Venezia (IUAV), together with the Centro ARCHiVe of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, dedicated to the study, digitization and inventory of the archive: we will focus in particular on the historical reconstruction by means of digital tools, to track down every aspect of the designer’s activity, from biographical and private information to collaborations and relationships with partners, clients and companies.