Pietro Derossi, the emblematic Italian architect and designer who helped define the radical design movement of the 1960s and 1970s, passed away on September 5th, 2025, at the age of 92. The Turin-born visionary left behind a revolutionary legacy that transformed contemporary culture through works ranging from the iconic Pratone grass-like seating for Gufram to the groundbreaking nightclub interiors that redefined entertainment spaces during Italy's cultural upheaval.
Born in Turin in 1933, Derossi studied at the Faculty of Architecture at the Polytechnic of Turin, where he graduated before embarking on a lifelong journey that bridged design practice with academic research. Throughout his career, he seamlessly combined professional projects with teaching, eventually becoming a full professor of architectural design at the Polytechnic of Milan. His influence extended internationally through visiting and contract positions at prestigious institutions including the Architectural Association in London, Pratt Institute and Columbia University in New York, the Polytechnic of Lausanne, and the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin. His writings and projects gained widespread recognition in both Italian and international journals, establishing him as an influential voice within the architectural discourse of his era.
From the mid-1960s, Derossi's career took a decidedly radical and collaborative turn with the founding of the Strum Group alongside Giorgio Ceretti and Riccardo Rosso. The trio approached architecture and design as powerful forms of social and political participation, boldly challenging the established conventions of modernism with an experimental and irreverent spirit. This revolutionary approach found its most vivid expression in Derossi's transformation of Italy's nightlife scene, where he converted venues such as the Piper Club in Turin and L'Altro Mondo in Rimini into radical laboratories of sound, light, and spatial experience.
These clubs transcended their role as mere entertainment venues, evolving into dynamic platforms where architecture intersected with politics, art, and youth culture during a period of profound social upheaval. Dissatisfied with the limitations of post-war modernism, Derossi and his peers in the Radical Design movement worked alongside groups like Superstudio, UFO, and Gruppo 9999 to transform discotheques into experimental stages for multimedia environments, reconfigurable furnishings, and immersive technologies. Through this innovative approach, Derossi helped define a revolutionary new kind of architecture that dissolved traditional disciplinary boundaries and transformed nightlife into a vibrant theater of creativity and collective participation.
Simultaneously, Derossi extended his radical philosophy into furniture design, creating some of the most memorable pieces of the era. Working together with Ceretti, Rosso, and artist Piero Gilardi, he pioneered the innovative use of polyurethane foam to create provocative, anti-design objects for the Italian manufacturer Gufram. Among these groundbreaking creations, the iconic PRATONE (1971) stands out as one of the most emblematic pieces in contemporary design history. This playful field of oversized, yielding grass stalks completely reimagined the concept of sitting as a surreal and communal experience, masterfully blurring the lines between nature and artifice.
PRATONE quickly achieved global recognition as a symbol of radical design, earning the honor of appearing on the cover of the catalog for MoMA's landmark 1972 exhibition "Italy: The New Domestic Landscape." The piece is now part of the permanent collections of prestigious institutions including the Vitra Design Museum, MoMA, and other international museums worldwide. PRATONE has been consistently celebrated as a masterpiece of irreverence and imagination, a status that was powerfully reaffirmed in 2021 with the creation of SUPERPRATONE, a towering inflatable installation displayed in Milan to commemorate the original design's 50th anniversary.
In 1994, Derossi further expanded his architectural influence with the founding of Derossi Associati, established alongside Paolo and Davide Derossi. The studio went on to complete numerous major projects, including housing developments for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and a wide range of public and cultural buildings throughout Italy. These later works cemented Pietro Derossi's lasting and profound influence on Italian architecture and design, demonstrating how his radical vision continued to evolve and inspire new generations of designers and architects until the end of his remarkable 60-year career.
