The first among equals in contemporary design, architect and industrial designer Ettore Sottsass has become a legend. Born in Innsbrück, Austria, in 1917, he moved with his family to Italy. Graduating as an architect from the Turin Polytechnic, he first joined his father Ettore Sottsass Sr.’s architectural practice. Moving to Milan after World War II, Sottsass soon began to work for Olivetti and has several electronic product designs to his name, including the mainframe computer Elea 9003 for which he won a Compasso d’Oro award. At the head of the avant-garde movement through the 1960s, he designed furniture, electronics, ceramics and various other objects. Sottsass became a leading member of the Memphis group formed in 1981 with the objective of reviving radical design. The group included other illustrious designers like Michele de Lucchi. At about the same time, Sottsass got together with some designer friends to open Sottsass Associati, for which he still works.