Gae Aulenti

Gaetana "Gae" Emilia Aulenti (pronounced [ˈɡaːe auˈlɛnti]; 4 December 1927 – 31 October 2012) was an Italian architect and designer. Aulenti began her career in the early 1950s, establishing herself as one of the few prominent female architects in post-war Italy. Although modernism was the predominant international architectural style throughout much of the 20th century, Aulenti stepped away from its tenets to embrace neo-liberty, an architectural and design theory which upheld the relevance of tradition and artistic freedom within the modern aesthetic. Throughout her career, Aulenti applied her knowledge and broad expertise to a wide range of projects spanning from furniture, lighting, and product design to interiors and exhibition design, theatre stage sets, historical preservation and large-scale architectural projects. Aulenti is widely acknowledged for transforming the Gare d'Orsay to the Musée d'Orsay. She was awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d' Honneur and the Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana.