Masters of Twentieth-Century Architecture: From Modernism to Starchitects

From Le Corbusier to Zaha Hadid, Gio Ponti to Carlo Scarpa, architects who designed lamps to Pritzker-winning starchitects: Archi&Interiors maps the protagonists of twentieth-century architecture and their buildings through its collection of guides.

A ramp rising through a villa lifted on pilotis at Poissy, a marble-and-steel pavilion in Barcelona, a slender tower in central Milan, a garden of concrete and water in the countryside near Treviso. These works differ in location and language, yet tell a shared story: that of the masters of architecture who changed how people built, furnished and inhabited space during the twentieth century.

This page brings together the portraits, monographs and detailed articles our editorial team has devoted to those protagonists. It is organised into groups: the founders of the international Modern Movement, Italian masters, architects who became furniture and product designers, contemporary figures celebrated as starchitects, and finally the houses and buildings that became icons. Each entry gives essential dates, reasons for its importance and the title of a guide to explore further. The Italian original draws on foundations, museums and encyclopaedias; English links are included only where a published counterpart has been verified.

In the projects we cover, these references recur: Le Corbusier’s free plan in lofts, Aalto’s bentwood in Nordic homes, Scarpa’s light in museum interiors. Understanding the masters also helps us read today’s homes more closely.

Who are the masters of twentieth-century architecture?

The masters of twentieth-century architecture are the architects who defined the century’s design languages. They include Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright and Alvar Aalto within the Modern Movement, Italian figures such as Gio Ponti and Carlo Scarpa, and later protagonists recognised by the Pritzker Prize. They share an understanding that design concerns every scale, from the city to the everyday object.

There is no official list, and every architectural history offers a different one. Our practical criterion is to include masters to whom our magazine has devoted a guide and show the relationships between them. Our Italian-language feature on the world’s most famous architect compares well-known figures, while the guide to Bauhaus history and furnishing explores the development of modern design through the school Walter Gropius founded in Weimar in 1919, which closed in 1933.

The masters of the international Modern Movement

The masters of the Modern Movement transformed architecture between the 1920s and 1960s, prioritising structure, light and function over applied ornament. Important selections of their work now have UNESCO recognition: seventeen Le Corbusier buildings since 2016, grouped in UNESCO serial property 1321; eight Wright buildings since 2019; and thirteen Aalto buildings and ensembles since 2026. The table summarises their contribution and the related guides.

The Italian masters of architecture

Italy’s twentieth-century masters translated modernism into a language attentive to history, materials and craftsmanship. From Milan to Venice and Turin to Rome, they built museums, towers, houses and monumental tombs, often designing their furnishings too. Our guides to famous Milan architects of the 1960s and pioneering women architects provide, respectively, an overview of boom-era Milan and the contributions of frequently overlooked women.

Italian architect-designers: from the home to the object

Italian architect-designers are the practitioners, most trained in architecture, who brought their design culture to the furniture and lighting industries after the war. They helped make Italian design internationally recognised through objects that remain in production. Our selection of twenty iconic Italian design objects surveys familiar pieces, while the guide to famous Italian interior designers looks towards contemporary practice.

Contemporary architects and starchitects

The contemporary architects described as starchitects are designers who, from the 1970s onwards, created internationally recognisable buildings and received major awards, notably the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Italy’s first two laureates were Aldo Rossi in 1990 and Renzo Piano in 1998, as recorded in the official Pritzker laureates list. Our guides to international starchitects, contemporary Italian starchitects and major architecture awards explore the phenomenon and its recognition.

Readers moving from individual names to organisations can consult our surveys of the world’s best-known architecture firms, ten famous practices in Italy, architecture studios across Italy, and young Italian architects and practices.

The iconic houses and buildings of the twentieth century

Iconic twentieth-century houses and buildings are those in which the masters tested their ideas, often for themselves or for enlightened clients. Many can be visited. The following table gathers our guides to individual works and thematic collections.

The masters’ furniture: seating, lamps and bookcases

The masters’ furniture offers a direct way to bring their architectural thinking into a home, since many pieces remain in production under licences from heirs and foundations. The best-known example is the LC4 chaise longue by Le Corbusier, Jeanneret and Perriand, designed in 1928, manufactured by Cassina from 1964 with exclusive rights from 1965. Our guide to Cassina and its icons explains how the company made authorised reissues into a method.

To navigate individual designs, we have built collections by type: iconic armchairs, twenty famous chairs that made design history, famous sofas, iconic lighting, bookcases and authored sideboards. Beyond Italy, the centenary of Danish designer Verner Panton’s birth offers an opportunity to revisit the designer who transformed colour into space.

Frequently asked questions about architectural masters

Who are the four masters of the Modern Movement?

Architectural histories commonly name Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright and Walter Gropius, who founded the Bauhaus in 1919; many add Alvar Aalto. They share a move away from applied ornament, the use of materials such as reinforced concrete, steel and glass, and the belief that architecture should respond to modern life, from home to city.

Who are the most important Italian architects of the twentieth century?

Prominent Italian masters include Gio Ponti, founder of Domus and designer of the Pirelli Tower; Carlo Scarpa, the Venetian master of detail; Aldo Rossi, Italy’s first Pritzker laureate in 1990; and Renzo Piano, awarded in 1998. They stand alongside Carlo Mollino, Gae Aulenti and Angelo Mangiarotti, as well as Milan’s major architect-designers.

Which Italian architects have won the Pritzker Prize?

The first Italian Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate was Aldo Rossi in 1990, followed by Renzo Piano in 1998. Established in 1979, the prize is regarded as one of architecture’s most prestigious honours. International laureates discussed here include Frank Gehry (1989), Norman Foster (1999) and Zaha Hadid (2004), the first woman to receive it.

Why did so many Italian architects become designers?

A frequently cited reason is historical: after the war, Brianza and Milan had furniture and lighting companies ready for series production. Architects brought the methods learned in architecture schools into furnishings. Castiglioni, Magistretti, Zanuso, Sottsass and Bellini worked with manufacturers for decades, and many of their objects remain in production.

Which works by the masters can be visited?

Many are open to the public. In France, Villa Savoye in Poissy is managed by the Centre des monuments nationaux. In Italy, visitors can explore the Brion memorial at San Vito d’Altivole, Museo Casa Mollino in Turin, Castelvecchio Museum in Verona and several homes discussed in our house-museum guide. Opening times and booking requirements should be checked with the official operators.