Entry Ways of Milan

Milan’s sumptuous modernist hallways.

First impressions count, especially in Milano. In this unprecedented photographic journey, editor Karl Kolbitz opens the door to 140 of the city’s most sumptuous entrance halls, captivating in their diversity and splendor. These vibrant Milanese entryways, until now hidden away behind often restrained facades, are revealed as dazzling examples of Italian modernism, mediating public and private space with vivid configurations of color and form, from floors of juxtaposed stones to murals of minimalist geometry.

The collection spans buildings from 1920 to 1970 and showcases the work of some of the city’s most illustrious architects and designers, including , and Luigi Caccia Dominioni, as well as non-pedigreed architecture of equal impact and interest. The photographs for the publication were exclusively created by the Delfino Sisto Legnani, Paola Pansini and Matthew Billings, each evoking the entryways with individual sensibility and a stylistic interplay of detail shots – such as stones, door handles, and handrails – with larger architectural views.

The images are accompanied by outstanding written contributions from Penny Sparke, Fabrizio Ballabio, Lisa Hockemeyer, Daniel Sherer, Brain Kish, and Grazia Signori, together bring a wealth of architecture, design, and natural stone expertise to guide the reader through the art-historical, social, and technical intricacies of the ingressi. As much an architectural city guide as an architectural study, the book provides the exact address and an annotated Milan map for all featured entryways, as well as the architect name and date of construction.

In the well-documented realm of 20th-century Italian design, Kolbitz has stepped over the threshold and delivered a brand new area of enquiry in Milanese modernism. With the rigor of its multi-faceted research, poised photography, and breadth of its featured hallways, this is an invigorating new reference work and an inside look at the city’s design DNA across high to low architecture.

About the Authors

Fabrizio Ballabio is an architect and writer. He teaches History and Theories Studies at the Architectural Association (AA) and the Royal College of Art (RCA) and is a founding member of yr.

Daniel Sherer is Associate Professor of Architecture at Columbia GSAPP and Visiting Lecturer in Architectural History at Yale School of Architecture.

Lisa Hockemeyer is an art and design historian and senior lecturer at the Istituto Marangoni in Milan as well as Visiting Research Fellow at Kingston University, U.K., and lecturer at the Design School, Polytechnic of Milan. She has curated and co-curated exhibitions in both Italy and the U.K. Penny Sparke is Professor of Design History and Director of the Modern Interiors Research Centre at Kingston University, U.K. She has lectured, curated exhibitions, broadcast, and published widely on Design History, including her own books An Introduction to Design and Culture, 1900 to the present and Design in Context.

Brian Kish is an art historian and curator in Italian 20th century design. His specialist knowledge includes designers Ico & Luisa Parisi, Gio Ponti, BBPR, Carlo Mollino, and Carlo Scarpa. He organized the first exhibition on Gio Ponti in the United States.

About the Editor

Karl Kolbitz is an editor, based in Berlin. Growing up in the reunited German capital, he became interested in architecture and how the built environment shapes our lives. He worked with Mario Testino and Wolfgang Tillmans for many years before founding his own creative practice, which focuses on the development and design of art and architecture publications.

About the Photographers

Delfino Sisto Legnani lives and works in Milan. His photography has featured in a number of international magazines as well as in leading culture forums like the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, La Triennale in Milan, and the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2012 and 2014.

Matthew Billings is a a Berlin-based photographer and video artist whose work considers the intersection of moving and still imagery and the formal shifts brought about by technological advance. His work has been featured in magazines including Basso, Butt, and Paper.

Paola Pansini lives and works in Milan. Her photography focuses on still-life and interiors and has been featured by some of the most prestigious fashion houses, international magazines, and architecture studios.