Born in 1931, Aldo Rossi studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano (Italy), and taught at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (Switzerland), Yale University (US) and Harvard University (US). He also led a course in architectural design at the Vienna University of Technology (Austria).

Rossi's career in architecture took off in 1970 with the design for the 'Gallaratese' apartment complex in Milan.

 

His designs won several contracts, including the Modena cemetery in Italy, a residential complex for the International Exhibition of Architecture in Berlin, 'La Villette Sud' in Paris and the German Historical Museum in Berlin. Aldo Rossi's buildings are found in Italy (including the Provincial Authorities Building in Perugia, Carlo Felice Theatre in Genoa, Casa Aurora in Turin, etc.), Germany (Berlin), the Netherlands (Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht), the US and Japan (Il Palazzo hotel in Fukuoka).

 

In 1980, the Venice Biennale commissioned Rossi to design the Teatro del Mondo (World Theatre), which floats on the Bay of Venice. In 1983, he was appointed director of the Venice Biennale. In 1990, he received the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize, and in 1992, the Thomas Jefferson Medal in Architecture.

 

In 1967, Rossi wrote the definitive work L'Architettura della Città (The Architecture of the City), followed, in 1981, by Autobiografia Scientifica (A Scientific Autobiography). In 1993, a major retrospective exhibition of his architectural designs went on tour, travelling to various European cities, including Paris, Ghent, Berlin and Amsterdam. In addition, there were a variety of exhibitions, showing his graphic designs and designs for tools.

 

He met with a fatal accident on 4 September 1997.