Ignazio Gardella (1905–1999). Architect, engineer and designer, leading figure of Italian Rationalism whose career spanned six decades. After early work aligned with the Modern Movement—most notably the Antitubercular Dispensary in Alessandria (1936–38)—he evolved a poised, classically inflected modernism seen in Casa Tognella (Milan, 1947–54), the Casa alle Zattere on the Giudecca (Venice, 1953–58) and the Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, PAC (Milan, 1954). In 1947 he co-founded Azucena with Luigi Caccia Dominioni and Corrado Corradi Dell’Acqua, editing refined furniture and lighting. A dedicated educator, from the late 1940s he taught architectural composition at the IUAV in Venice, where his lucid method—combining structural rigor, constructional detail and measured proportion—shaped generations of Italian architects; he also participated in CIAM discussions and professional bodies. Gardella’s furniture translates the same architectural intelligence: rational clarity, balanced volumes and tactile materials.