Gae Aulenti graduated from Milan Polytechnic in 1953 and since 1956 has worked in the city designing for architecture, interiors and industry and theatre scenery. In the early 80s, she was the artistic director at Fontana Arte, creating timeless lamps and furnishing elements for the company as well as many other designs for manufacturers such as Stilnovo, Martinelli or Vistosi.

Her architectonic projects are many and prestigious and include refurbishment and a new layout for the Musée d‘Orsay (1980-86) and the Musée National d’Art Moderne at the Centre Pompidou (1982-85); refurbishment of Palazzo Grassi in Venice (1985-86); the new entrance for Santa Maria Novella station in Florence (1990); Palazzo Italia at EXPO ‘92 in Seville; restoration of the Scuderie Papali at the Quirinale in Rome (1999); renovation of Piazzale Cadorna in Milan (2000); the “Museo” and “Dante” stations on underground line 1 and redesign of Piazza Cavour and Piazza Dante in Naples (1999-2002); the new Asian Art Museum in San Francisco (1996-2003); the Catalan Museum of Art in Barcelona (1985-2004); restoration of the Palavela in Turin for the Winter Olympic Games in 2006; the institute of culture in Tokyo (2006); restoration of Palazzo Branciforte in Palermo and transformation into a museum (2011).