Since the second half of the 1950s onwards, Gio Ponti established a long-lasting partnership
with Ceramica Joo Milano, the producer of high-relief glazed ceramic tiles, designed
by Ponti himself and used to clad the majority of his architectures. Ceramica Joo
Milano falls within the category of those manufacturing companies with a hybrid structural
setting, capable of merging industrial demands while preserving execution methods
associated with artisanal concepts and craftsmanship. This collaboration persisted
continuously for extended periods, supporting the Milanese architect not only in making
and exploring the multiple conditions of the design process but also in furthering a vision
and a line of thought consistently articulated in his writings. The products by Ceramica
Joo Milano fulfill Ponti’s pursuit of incorruptibility, famously expressed in his book Amate
l’architettura and numerous articles published in “Domus”, but also in the company’s advertisements
featured in the same magazine, which document and illustrate the values of
high-relief glazed ceramic coverings in modern architecture.