Umberto Riva

Umberto Riva (16/06/1928 - 25/06/2021) is one of the greats of Italian architecture whose work ranged from building and industrial design to graphics, interiors, urban planning, painting, restoration and museum design. He graduated in 1959 from the IUAV in Venice, where he studied under Carlo Scarpa. He did not focus on what many of Scarpa's students would embrace in the following decades - namely certain aesthetic aspects applied to architecture, charged with decorative and mannerist power. Riva instead focused on understanding space as the result of the complex reworking of Scarpa's teachings. Riva himself often used the pinball machine metaphor to describe the non-symmetrical, non-orthogonal spatial definitions that characterise his projects - apparently non-harmonious forms that oblige the observer to move around and constantly change point of view.

Riva designed lamps, defining them as "illuminated glass". Some examples are Franceschina and Gi-Gi, designed for Fontana Arte, and E63 for Bieffeplast, reissued by Tacchini. Recently Tacchini also created some "master carpets" by reproducing some of Riva's 1990's paintings characterised by geometric lines, abstract forms and delicate pastels. Riva designed many exhibitions throughout his long career, including the 2012 exhibition "L'Italia di Le Corbusier" at MAXXI in Rome. The narrative of this authentic tribute to the great Master was reinforced by wood plank walls, encouraging dialogue between Le Corbusier's drawings and Zaha Hadid's visionary architecture.

Riva was a member of the Accademia di San Luca since 1998. In 2018, he was awarded the Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement during the sixth edition of the Medaglia d'Oro all'Architettura Italiana at the Milan Triennale. In 2019, Fondazione Sozzani in Milan dedicated an exhibition to Riva's design projects. For the occasion, a portrait film was produced (edited by Francesca Molteni and Claudia Adragna), exploring the figure of the architect from an everyday point of view, showing him at work in his studio and allowing viewers to learn about his method. Umberto Riva died in Palermo in June 2021 at the age of 93.

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