Modern Magazine - Fall 2010

Ettore Sottsass, the legendary Italian architect and designer, seems to hover like a subtle aura over the Fall issue of Modern, present through his tangential connections to those profiled in feature articles in a way that only underscores the impact of this larger-than-life figure on the design culture of the post-WWII period. For example, there is Brent Lewis’ interview with architect and designer Michele De Lucchi. And, although the interview very much brings us up to date with De Lucchi’s more recent work –such as designs for lauded public buildings- we are, of course, reminded of De Lucchi’s seminal and groundbreaking design work as on of Sottsass’ co-conspirators in the famous Memphis movement.

Further on in the issue, in Gregory Cerio’s article on Johanna Grawunder’s eclectic designs for a Hong Kong executive’s home, we discover that Johanna herself spent a number of years honing her skills in the Milan studio of Ettore Sottssas Jr. The legacy of the great man always seems less than six degrees of separation away from some of the most exciting practitioners of today profiled in this issue.

Naturally, Modern is a magazine that always offers a lot relating to its field of expertise. Though there’s always too much choice to do justice in highlighting but a few articles, Amy Silver’s article on the SS Rotterdam, once a cruise liner and now reinvented as a hotel and conference centre with a distinct whiff of retro glamour in the port that gives the ship her name is a pleasing read.