Gustavo & Vito Latis Biography
Gustavo Latis was born in Milan in 1920. Due to the racial laws in force, he was unable to complete the last year of high school and had to take exams as a private student. After classical high school, he worked in the field of graphics, scenography and applied arts from 1939 to 1943, clandestinely completing an apprenticeship as a set designer and photographer at La Scala. During the period 1944-1945, he took refuge in Switzerland.
After the war, he began his studies at the Milan Polytechnic in October 1945, completing them in less than three years and graduating in architecture in July 1948. His thesis focused on the renovation and enhancement of the Seminario Maggiore, with Piero Portaluppi as supervisor. During his university years, he had the opportunity to collaborate in his brother's studio, participating in his first important projects. This experience was considered fundamental for his education, almost more than the notions learned during his university studies.
Like his brother Vito, Gustavo chose to combine professional activity with cultural commitment, becoming a member of important organizations such as the INU and the Industrial Design Association. Starting in 1956, the two brothers joined together in the "Latis Architetti" studio, engaging in an intense and varied production that included civil construction (private or collective), industrial and tertiary construction, urban planning, furniture and design. Their collaboration lasted more than four decades and their works were published in important Italian architecture magazines specializing in construction and furniture. Only in the years immediately preceding Vito's death did the studio cease its activity.
