Pio Manzù

Background

Pio Manzù (born Pio Manzoni, 2 March 1939 – 26 May 1969) was an Italian automotive, product and furniture designer, born in Milan, the son of the sculptor Giacomo Manzù. He studied product design at the Ulm School of Design (HfG Ulm) under Tomás Maldonado, graduating in 1964 as the first Italian at the school, and stayed on as a teaching assistant.

Signature Style

Manzù brought the logic of the car industry to everyday objects: simple, low-cost, industrially made forms with visible mechanical character. His Cronotime table clock (1966) recalls the exhaust pipes and cooling hoses of an engine.

Notable Works

• Autonova Fam (1965), a mini MPV prototype developed with Fritz B. Busch and Michael Conrad
• Cronotime clock (1966), in the MoMA collection, today made by Alessi
• Styling of the Fiat 127 and the Fiat City Taxi concept (1968)
• The original sketch behind the Parentesi lamp, developed by Achille Castiglioni for Flos (1971)

Legacy

Manzù died in a car accident in May 1969 on his way to present the final Fiat 127 mock-up. Parentesi, credited to him and Castiglioni, won the Compasso d'Oro in 1979. His work is held by MoMA, GAMeC Bergamo and the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich.