Gio Ponti was born in 1891 in Milan, and he was a legend in the world of architecture and design. He was one of the few Italian architects who experienced international success with the designing of daily life objects and with the implementation of high buildings.
Ponti studied architecture from 1913 at the Polytechnic University of Milan. Because he served in WWI, he graduated only in 1921. After completion of his studies, Ponti was initially artistic director of the china manufacture Richard-Ginori and from 1930 on, he took over the artistic direction of the glass manufacture FontanaArte that until now produces Ponti's light designs. In 1927, he opened his first architecture office in Milano and shared its direction with the architect Emilio Lancia until 1933. In 1928, he founded the art, architecture and design magazine Domus that he led with some interruptions until his death in 1979. He taught as professor for interior design from 1936 to the 1961 at the Polytechnicum in Milan.
Gio Ponti's first architectural orientation after completion of his studies was the Milanese neo classicism, also called Novecento Milanese. Later, he made a change of direction towards Razionalismo, a modernistic current born in the 1920s.
The experimental house "Casa Ponti" in Milan counts among Ponti's most significant early works. He designed it in 1926 together with Emilio Lancia and lived and worked there until he died. He gained his success as artistic director at the glass manufacture FontanaArte with the presentation of the suspension 0024 in 1931. Beside the 0024, the lighting sculpture Fato, the Pirelli floor lamp and the Bilia table lamp are still produced by FontanaArte.
The filigreed Superleggera chair from the year 1957 counts among Gio Ponti's most famous pieces of furniture. One year later, together with Pier Luigi Nervi, he implemented his most significant architecture project: the 34-storey Pirelli building in Milano that is today a landmark of the town. The Pirelli building later inspired him the design of the Pirelli floor lamp for FontanaArte. At the end of the 1960s, Ponti built the Denver Art Museum that features a facade comprising one million glass tiles.
Gio Ponti died on the 16th of September 1979 in his house Casa Ponti in Milano.