Ettore Sottsass jr. and the Earliest Olivetti Computers Design

  • Elisabetta Mori Università degli Studi di Firenze
Keywords: Andries Van Onck, Computer, Ettore Sottsass jr., Olivetti, Tomás Maldonado

Abstract

This short essay aims to reconstruct the history of the earliest Olivetti computers: the evolution of Elea series (1955-1965) designed by Ettore Sottsass Jr. with Andries Van Onck. The main focus is Elea 9002, winner of Premio Compasso d’Oro for industrial design in 1959, and Elea 9003, the very first Italian transistor mainframe computer. The article also presents the latter models (Elea 6001, 4001, 9104). Moreover, it briefly outlines the innovative symbols system specifically designed for Olivetti computers by Tomás Maldonado and Gui Bonsiepe at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm.

Author Biography

Elisabetta Mori, Università degli Studi di Firenze

She studied architecture at the Technische Universiteit of Eindhoven and the University of Florence, where she graduated with honors. He has collaborated with art and architecture magazines and was part of the editorial staff of «ARCH'IT - digital architecture magazine» from 2002 to 2010. Furthermore, since 2003, he has embarked on a career as an artist, working and exhibiting in Italy and abroad, and being part of some artistic collectives (Liquid Cat, Postcards from Beirut).

Published
2013-03-01
Issue
Vol 1 No 1 (2013): Constellations
Section
Micro-histories

Copyright (c) 2013 Elisabetta Mori

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Creative Commons NonCommercial-NoDerivates 4.0 international License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).