The volume collects the principal projects of Ugo La Pietra’s theoretical and object-based practice, with particular emphasis on those addressing the city, conceived as an interior space. Through period photographs and drawings, unpublished writings, and historic editions, the book seeks to illuminate La Pietra’s career and body of work, portraying him as a transdisciplinary artist and explorer regarded as a seminal figure in Milanese and Radical production of the 1960s.

Ugo La Pietra (b. 1938) is an Italian architect, artist, and designer, recognized for his pioneering research on the relationship between individuals and their environments, as well as communication systems, engaging with movements such as Conceptual Art, Radical Design, and Narrative Art. His multidisciplinary practice spans environmental, urban, and design projects, alongside painting, with a strong focus on the humanistic and territorial dimensions of design. La Pietra has exhibited extensively in Italy and abroad, including the Milan Triennale, Venice Biennale, Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, FRAC Centre in Orléans, among others. His works are held in major collections such as MoMA (New York), SFMoMA (San Francisco), Centre Pompidou (Paris), FRAC Centre (Orléans), and the National Museum of Modern Art (Tokyo), SFMoMA (San Francisco, CA, USA), Yale University (Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, USA). He has directed numerous influential journals, including Domus, In., Global Tools, Progettare INPIÙ, Area, and Abitare con Arte, among others. He received the Compasso d’Oro for Research in 1979 and the Compasso d’Oro for Lifetime Achievement in 2016, while curating significant international exhibitions.

Elisa C. Cattaneo is an Italian theorist, educator and landscape designer, recognized for her innovative approach to experimental design and its theoretical implications. Visiting scholar at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology and at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, she investigates the concept of contemporary, redefining conventional design methods to uncover new theories, aesthetics and codifications. Her approach is grounded in her definition of “weakness theory” (WeakCity, 2015), which has been featured in numerous international exhibitions, biennials, and conferences. She was co-curator of the session City and Landscape at the Expo 2015 Architecture Pavilion Milan Capital of the Modern, co-curator of the exhibition Verde Prato, and curator of the Seeds International Symposium at Pecci Center for ContemporaryArt. Her main publications include Andrea Branzi. Emc2: The Project in the Age of Relativity (Actar Publishers,2018); Prato Factories Nature (Skira, 2019); Loaded Void (2013-15), and Nature through the Mirror (2016). Since 2002, she has been the principal of her firm, leading public projects and international competitions. She is a High-Qualified Professor of Theory in Contemporary Architectural Design at Politecnico di Milano.

Marta Bertazzoni is an architect graduated at Politecnico di Milano, including a study period at the Universidad de Málaga. Her master’s thesis is a historical-theoretical monograph entitled Ugo La Pietra and Interior Architecture: Research and Works in Furniture and Exhibition Design, published by LetteraVentidue Editore. She currently collaborates with the Ugo La Pietra Archive on cataloguing and enhancing historical material and is involved in an international editorial project on the transnational networks of contemporary architectural culture, developed in partnership with Politecnico di Torino and Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.

After graduating in Design from Politecnico di Milano, Simona Cesana began working in applied art and artistic design, collaborating with galleries, magazines, and artists. Since 2007, she has worked alongside Ugo La Pietra in his studio and archival activities. She is a founding member of the cultural association Mille Gru, of which she has served as president and currently acts as coordinator. Through Mille Gru, she develops cultural, editorial, and educational projects that encompass literature, music, and theatre. Together with Dome Bulfaro, she founded PoesiaPresente LAB, the association’s headquarters, which promotes cultural and artistic initiatives united by the guiding thread of poetry.