Today, September 24th, it would have been his birthday, but Luigi left us before blow out his 80 candles.
Luigi Mangano was one of the most innovative and best known figures in the field of architecture and office design in Italy.

Born in Sicily, but true cosmopolitan, after graduating in architecture in Catania Luigi Mangano started working abroad – in Tunisia, United States and Mexico as well as in many European countries – collecting experiences that made him a professional absolutely unpublished.
He was one of the first examples of architect-manager and a pioneer of Space Planning, shareholder and founder of DEGW Italia.

I met him at the beginning of the 80s, he had just returned from Mexico and with a funny accent that fused Sicilian English and Spanish he spoke to me for the first time about new design approaches and space planning, a new discipline that had never been applied before in Italy.

I liked his joy (nobody can forget his inevitable jokes?) his love for good food, especially from his Sicily (he always advised me on the best Sicilian restaurants he discovered in Milan). He was a cheerful man, but also extremely serious and demanding at work.

I had the honor of working for him, together we organized some of the DEGW conferences that represented unmissable events to learn about the state of the art of Office Design in the world.

His energy and his desire to change the tedious vision of the office project have attracted many young architects.
As a true Master he was able to professionally grow a generation of designers – the Manganitos, as he called them – who later opened their own studios and are today among the most qualified professionals at international level.

Thanks Luigi -on behalf of all the Manganitos- for what you taught us and for the sympathy you gave us.

Text by Renata Sias