Ignazio Gardella was an Italian architect, engineer, academic, and designer born in Milan to a Genovese family of architects, as his father, Arnaldo Gardella, and his grandfather, Ignazio Gardella Senior, were also architects. Gardella is considered a prominent member of the so-called third generation of the Italian Modern Movement, as well as one of the greatest exponents of Italian Rationalism. Throughout his career he was also a successful furniture and lighting designer and co-founder of the design and furniture manufacturing company Azucena.
By 1902 the company had acquired a new a revolutionary hydraulic press called the 'Huber Presverfahren' which enabled them to design more intricate pieces in far greater numbers.
Although the company won several prizes for their products they went into financial collapse in 1905 and were bought by WMF, another famous German metalware company. WMF continued producing items under the name of ORIVIT until 1914.
The designers of Orivit were:
Theo Blum
George Charles Couldrey
Hermann Gradl
Georg Grasegger
Johann Cristian Kroner
Walter Scherf
Victor Heinrich Seifert