Sottsas was born in 1917 in Innsbruck in the family of an architect, he himself received an architectural education at the Turin Polytechnic University and has always considered himself primarily an architect. This makes him similar to many of the leading Italian designers such as Mario Bellini and Gaetano Pesce. At the same time, in terms of influence on the development of 20th century design and in terms of creativity, Sottsass is hard to find equal.
He joined in the 1960s and 1970s. to the movement of "anti-design", meaning by this concept their rejection of functionalism, militarism and capitalism. It gained worldwide fame during a period of fruitful collaboration with Olivetti, for which Sottsas designed the Valentine typewriter, which went on sale on Valentine's Day 1969. In it, the designer applied some ingenious technical innovations, but it became popular thanks to its attractive streamlined shape and bright red color - “the color of the communist flag, the color that makes the surgeon move faster, the color of passion,” in the words of Ettore Sottsas himself. Now this typewriter is included in the collection of the MOMA Museum of Modern Art in New York.
The second peak of his work was the founding of the Memphis group in Milan in 1981, whose works - furniture, lamps, ceramics - fully expressed the possibilities of the philosophy of postmodernism in the field of industrial design. These objects were filled with energy and color, they were not only "things", but also an expression of the emotions of the people who created them.
As an architect, Sottsas has built not very much, although more in recent years than in previous decades. Among his completed projects are Malpensa Airport in Milan, David Kelly's home in Silicon Valley in the United States, as well as an army golf club and the elite Prosperity Village in China.
