19.1-2 | Global Conversation | Matteo Tonoli and Roberto Carradore
Garbo and cenacoli of Italian design in the 1960s: A second-order approach to innovation
Published onApr 17, 2023
19.1-2 | Global Conversation | Matteo Tonoli and Roberto Carradore
The optimum form, the skin of a design object (or an optimum maximum design object) features the minimum surface possible of maintaining the equilibrium of a triadic force system; that is, where catabolic phase, anabolic phase and tension reduction are perfectly balanced in the simplest form that the system can assume.
We have called this equilibrium ‘design garbato’, an approach to design characterized by necessity and simplicity at the highest degree. (Tonoli & Carradore, 2021)
After the Second World War, Italy experienced an economic miracle accompanied by the emergence of a material culture highly dense with meaning. This article adopts a second-order approach, which focuses on two concepts that emphasize the component of invention contained within the innovation process. Garbo indicates the peculiarly Italian way of solving a constrained optimization problem in the design of everyday objects. Meanwhile, the concept of cenacolo – whose etymological roots indicate conviviality and good living – made possible the study of the peculiar social networks of the Milanese cultural landscape during the 1960s, which enabled important cross-fertilizations between industry, culture and art. To demonstrate the connections between invention and garbo and cenacoli, the examples of Olivetti (key player in then-nascent personal computer technology) and Bialetti (producer of the Moka coffee machine) are used as case studies of innovative solutions to constrained problems. Following an outline of elements promoting the success of each, the article identifies historically determined mechanisms, which enable us to imagine and (potentially) establish the evolutionary conditions for new pathways of invention.
Presentation by Matteo Tonoli and Roberto Carradore for ASC Global Conversation
There might be substantial differences between the published article and the presentation, as the presentation was given before the article was submitted for peer review.
Second-Order Innovation. Modelling the Context of Invention: Lights on Italy in the Sixties (First Part: Context and Concepts)
Second-Order Innovation. Modelling the Context of Invention: Lights on Italy in the Sixties (Second Part: Olivetti and Bialetti)
ASC Global Conversation: Discussion Session 3 Cybernetics and Design
Moderated by Tim Jachna. Panelists include Matteo Tonoli, Roberto Carradore, Emidio Souza, Xin Wei Sha, Estevam Gomez and Ana Baltazar.
Technoetic Arts is included in EBSCO’s Academic Search Complete and Art and Architecture Complete collections. Researchers affiliated with universities likely have access to all article PDFs via their library’s EBSCO subscription. This Global Conversation Special Issue is logged with volume 19 of 2021 on EBSCOhost.
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