Ceretti / Derossi / Rosso

From the mid-1960s, Giorgio Ceretti, Pietro Derossi, and Riccardo Rosso approached architecture and design as instruments for engaging with the social and political debates of their time. Working together in Turin under the aegis of the Sturm Group, of which they were leading figures, they designed interiors for several venues that became emblematic of Italy’s entertainment culture, including the Piper Club and L’Altro Mondo in Rimini.

In collaboration with Piero Gilardi, they also developed some of the earliest furniture made from polyurethane foam, adopting an explicitly anti-design attitude that challenged established conventions of furniture and product design.

Over time, their practice extended beyond architecture and design to encompass educational, socio-political, and cultural concerns. In 1972, they were invited to participate in Italy: The New Domestic Landscape, the influential exhibition organized at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and curated by Emilio Ambasz. Their participation reflected the broader role that Italian radical design played in questioning conventional ideas of domestic space, lifestyle, and design during the period.