Born in Milan in 1931. He was a partner in the Nizzoli Associati practice until 1970. He was a founding member of the Free School for individual creativity “Global Tools”. From 1970 to 1976 he directed Casabella; from 1977 to 1981 he directed Modo and Domus from 1979 to 1985. Starting from 2010 he was the director of Domus.

He was a partner in the Alchimia studio and an image and designconsultant for a host of manufacturers.

Besides his architecture and furniture design, he organized a multitude of exhibits, seminars and free lectures in Italy and abroad. He was the author of several books on design and was on the advisory panel of the Domus Academy. His critiques and essays appear in the chief international trade journals. He is the principal author of the Zabro collection. Alessandro Mendini has been working for Zanotta since 1982 until his death in 2019.