Carlo Mollino was born on May 6, 1905, and died on August 27, 1973. He was an Italian architect, designer, and photographer who lived in Turin. He worked in many areas, including architecture, interior design, furniture, photography, and writing. He also designed a racing car and participated in aerobatic flying.

Mollino’s buildings mixed traditional Alpine styles with modern engineering and imaginative ideas. Some of his famous buildings are Slittovia del Lago Nero (1946–47), the Camera di Commercio di Torino (1965–73), and the Teatro Regio di Torino (1965–73). He also wrote fiction, criticism, and a book about photography history titled Il Messaggio dalla Camera Oscura (1949).

His furniture was created as parts of complete interior designs, not as separate pieces. This furniture has sold for high prices in international art and design markets. After his death, hundreds of nude photographs were found. These photos were taken between 1956 and 1973 in private studios on the hills of Turin.

Early life and education

Carlo Mollino was born on May 6, 1905, in Turin, Italy. He was the only child of Jolanda Testa (1884–1966) and Eugenio Mollino (1873–1953), an engineer who designed and built more than 300 structures of different kinds.

Mollino completed his studies in architecture in July 1931 at the Royal Superior School of Architecture in Turin. Before and after finishing his education, he worked with his father, who taught him about architectural design and had him help supervise building sites. This experience helped him learn about building materials, construction methods, and all parts of the building process.

Architecture

Mollino designed many buildings in Turin, including the Faculty of Architecture at the Politecnico di Torino. He created detailed plans for the doors and windows of most of his buildings.

Mollino saw architecture as a way to express ideas, not just a school subject. He often mixed old building techniques with new, experimental designs, inspired by traditions from the Alps. He preferred complex designs over simple ones. For Mollino, designing was like a creative act; he imagined spaces shaped by both practical needs and stories or imagination.

In the summer of 1931, shortly after graduating from architecture school in Turin, Mollino traveled to Berlin, where he met Erich Mendelsohn. This meeting with Expressionism influenced his work, which can be seen in his first completed building, the Sede Federazione Agricoltori (Farmers' Federation) in Cuneo (1933–35).

In 1933, Mollino published a short story called Vita di Oberon (The Life of Oberon) in the architectural journal Casabella. Written as fiction, it explained his views on architecture. This story, which shows influences from Futurism, marked the start of Mollino’s journey as both an architect and a storyteller.

In 1934, Mollino began studying Surrealism, a movement that interested him for the rest of his life. In August, he published his second story, L’amante del duca (The Duke’s Lover, 1934–36), a dreamlike tale about an imaginary architect named Faust.

The Società Ippica Torinese (Horse Riding Club of Turin, 1937–40) was Mollino’s first major work. It showed his vision of modern surreal architecture, combining his earlier designs and furniture from the 1930s to create spaces that balanced creativity and function.

In 1941, Mollino wrote an article about the Turinese architect Alessandro Antonelli, famous for his tall Mole. The article showed Mollino’s growing interest in "organic" design, inspired by the shapes of animals and plants, not by Frank Lloyd Wright. During this time, Mollino developed a theory called "synthetic eclecticism," treating architecture as a language. While World War II was happening, Mollino wrote about art, architecture, photography, and skiing from the perspective of a working designer.

After the war, Mollino built the Slittovia del Lago Nero (Lago Nero Sled Station, 1946–47), one of his most influential buildings. Its structure combined modern Vierendeel trusses with traditional log walls, creating a dynamic, three-dimensional design. Mollino called it a "flying chalet," inspired by Alpine architecture he studied in 1930. The building is part of a group of projects, including the unbuilt Casa Capriata (1945) and the Casa del Sole (1945–54) in Cervinia, which used traditional designs in modern ways.

In 1945, Mollino and sculptor Umberto Mastroianni won a competition to design a war memorial, completed in 1947, for the Monumental Cemetery in Turin.

From 1949 until his death, Mollino taught at the Faculty of Architecture in Turin, becoming a full professor in 1953. In 1950, he redesigned the interior of Turin’s RAI Auditorium. In 1952, he built the Casa Cattaneo, a two-story house with a long beam supported by two pillar-shaped legs, resembling an animal crouching on a hillside.

After his father died in December 1953, Mollino left architecture for a few years. In 1955, he designed the DaMolNar, a car that raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1956, he learned to fly, specializing in aerobatics, and competed in Italian and European events. He also took up nude photography.

In 1959, Mollino returned to architecture, entering a competition for an exhibition pavilion in Turin to celebrate Italy’s unification. From this point, his large buildings used reinforced concrete. These include the Camera di Commercio di Torino (Chamber of Commerce, 1965–73) and the Teatro Regio di Torino (Regio Opera House, 1973). The Teatro Regio, part of Piazza Castello, features spaces inspired by Piranesi’s Prisons, designed as a brutalist, curved, labyrinthine area with four levels.

• Sede Federazione Agricoltori (Offices of the Farmers’ Federation, 1933–35, Cuneo, still standing)
• Casa del Fascio (1934–39, Voghera, still standing)
• Società Ippica Torinese (Horse Riding Club of Turin, 1937–40, Turin, demolished in 1960)
• Monumento ai caduti per la libertà (Monument to the Fallen, 1945–47, Turin monumental cemetery, still standing)
• Casa del Sole (1945–54, Cervinia, still standing)
• Slittovia del Lago Nero (Lago Nero Sled Station, 1946–47, Sauze d’Oulx, still standing)
• RAI Auditorium (1950–52, Turin, still standing with major changes)
• Casa Linot (1951–1952, Bardonecchia, still standing)
• Casa ad alloggi sul Viale Maternità (Apartment Building on Viale Maternità, 1951–1953, still standing)
• Casa Cattaneo (1952, 1953, Agra, still standing)
• Casa Olivero (1962, La Thuile, still standing)
• Baita Taleuc (Taleuc Rascard, 1963–65, Champoluc, still standing)
• Camera di Commercio / Palazzo degli Affari (Chamber of Commerce, 1964–73, Turin, still standing)
• Teatro Regio di Torino (Regio Opera House, 1965–73, Turin, still standing)

Interior design and furniture

Mollino mainly worked as an interior designer. His furniture was meant to be part of a complete design and had a special purpose in the whole plan. Sometimes, he created single pieces, usually for shows. His furniture has sold for high prices at auctions.

He never designed for companies, and his pieces were never made in large numbers. He was not an industrial designer, but he thought about how things are made in large amounts. His designs from 1950 to 1953 could have been made in large numbers, but he did not try to do so.

Mollino’s first interiors, made in the 1930s, mixed Surrealism with the Modern Movement.

After writing a study about engineer Alessandro Antonelli in 1941, Mollino began a new phase. He started to think of interior space as a natural setting, and the shapes of plants and animals influenced his furniture designs.

A third phase began in 1950, when he showed his work at Italy at Work, Her Renaissance in Design Today at the Brooklyn Museum. He started using plywood and made his furniture and interiors simpler, focusing on how pieces connected.

After 1954, Mollino became less interested in designing interiors and furniture. Few examples remain from that time, including the Sala da ballo Lutrario (Lutrario Ballroom, 1959–60) and Casa Mollino (1960–68), his last interior, now a museum.

• Casa Miller, Turin (1936)
• Casa D'Errico, Turin (1937)
• Casa Devalle I, Turin (1939)
• Casa Devalle II, Turin (1940)
• Casa A. and C. Minola, Turin (1944–46)
• Casa F. and G. Minola, Turin (1945–46)
• Casa Orengo, Turin (1949)
• Casa Rivetti, Turin (1949)
• Casa Editrice Lattes (Lattes Publishing House), Turin (1951)
• Sala da ballo Lutrario (Lutrario Ballroom), Turin (1959–1960)
• Casa Mollino, Turin (1960–1968)
• Casa Pistoi, Turin (1966–67)

Unrealized projects

Mollino's archive includes many architectural projects that were never built or completed. For Mollino, creating designs was as important as constructing buildings.

Some of his earliest projects were alpine homes and ski shelters, such as Casa Capriata (1946–1954), a wooden structure with a truss design for Sestriere. Though fully planned, it was never built because of financial difficulties after World War II. In 1943, he submitted a design for modular, mass-produced furniture to the Garzanti competition, but wartime conditions stopped its development.

Mollino also designed a hospital in Rivoli (1954) and a plan for the ski resort of Sauze d'Oulx (1966); neither was completed. His last unfinished project was a ski complex at Sestriere, designed in 1973 and left incomplete after his death.

Other unrealized projects include:

• Casa in Collina (House on the Hill), published in Domus, 182, February 1943
• Camera da letto per una cascina in risaia (Bedroom for a Farmhouse in the Rice Field), published in Domus, 181, January 1943
• Casa sull'altura (House on the Heights), published in Stile, 40, April 1944
• Casa Capriata (Truss House), published in Domus, 230, 1948
• Casa a Sanremo (Apartment Building in Sanremo), published in Domus, 243, February 1950
• Casa Rama, published in Spazio, 2, August 1950
• Stazione d'arrivo funivia del Fürggen (Fürggen Cable Car Arrival Station), published in Prospettive, 1, December 1951
• Galleria d'Arte Moderna (Gallery of Modern Art of Turin), published in Prospettive, 6, July–August 1953
• Palazzo del Lavoro, Italia 61 (Exhibition Hall for Italia '61), published in Casabella Continuità, 235, January 1960, and in Architectural Forum, 112, May 1960

Photography

Mollino took photographs throughout his life, creating portraits, pictures of buildings, ski scenes, and images of people without clothes. He treated photography as a way to arrange scenes, not just to record events. He used rooms as sets where space, furniture, and women formed one complete picture. This method connected his photography to his work as an architect.

Starting in 1934, the year of his first signed photograph, Mollino used black-and-white photography for over ten years. He made portraits of women and sometimes photographed rooms or skis. He signed his prints as art and showed them in photography exhibitions. These portraits were similar to those by Man Ray and Erwin Blumenfeld but included references to books and buildings he designed. Separately, he photographed his interiors and buildings for magazines. He used techniques like retouching and combining photos to show his ideas for architecture.

In December 1943, Mollino completed a written work titled Il Messaggio dalla Camera Oscura (Message from the Darkroom), a book about the history and criticism of photography. It was published in 1949 and argued that photography can change how reality looks beyond its surface.

From the late 1930s, Mollino also photographed skiers, especially Leo Gasperl, a coach for Italy’s national alpine ski team. Some of these photos were signed as art, while others appeared in magazines or his skiing guide, Introduzione al Discesismo (Introduction to Downhill Skiing).

In 1956, after a break, Mollino began taking nude photographs, setting up scenes in rooms and furniture he designed. He made many Polaroid photos of women, which were found after his death.

He rented a part of Villa Scalero on a hill near Turin and bought women’s clothing and accessories for his photos. Using a Leica camera, he created nude images that connected to art history and used ideas from fashion magazines and popular culture. He changed his photos a lot, redrawing shapes and adding shading.

In 1962, Mollino left Villa Scalero and bought a small house on the Turin hillside, which he called Villa Zaira. He redesigned the inside as a studio and started using a Polaroid camera. He continued buying clothing and undergarments from the 1960s. The hundreds of nude photos he made between 1956 and 1973 were not shown in exhibitions until the 1980s.

Personal life

Mollino did not marry. Between 1948 and 1955, he was in a relationship with the sculptor Carmelina Piccolis. He passed away on August 27, 1973, while working in his studio.

Legacy

Mollino's work has inspired many architects and artists. Javier Senosiain, a Mexican architect known for creating buildings with organic shapes like "The Organic House," has mentioned that Mollino used natural structures in his designs. India Evans, an artist, has used Mollino's photos of women in her work. Garcia Tamjidi, an architect, has said that Mollino's photos of cars and furniture inspired him.