Ignazio Gardella (Milan, 1905 – Oleggio, 1999) was one of the leading figures in Italian twentieth-century architecture.
He graduated first in Civil Engineering and then in Architecture at the Politecnico di Milano. Even before the war he had performed a series of jobs for the upper classes of Piedmont and Lombardia, clients whom he was able to interpret in many important projects in the period of Reconstruction when he was at the forefront in proposing a new idea of architecture.
In 1947, he founded Azucena with Luigi Caccia Dominioni and Corrado Corradi Dell’Acqua.
Until the 1990s, Gardella continued producing and designing furniture and accessories for his as well as for other companies, as well as working as an internationally renowned architect in public and private works.