Born in Innsbruck in 1917, he received his degree in 1939 and started his career in Milan in 1947.
Ever since then Sottsass has been involved in research and formal experimentation in a variety of fields: architecture and industrial design, ceramics and jewelry, craftwork and graphics.
He has designed objects for major Italian firms, such as Olivetti, where he has headed computer design since 1957. He has participated, with a critical stance, in many of Milan's Triennale shows; he was a commissioner in the international section of the 15th exhibition.
During the 1970s Sottsass played a lead part in radical architecture; together with other renown Italians he founded Global Tools, a school of free individual creativity.
At the same time, he wrote for Domus and Casabella.
He has taken part in the major design exhibitions, like "Italy: The New Domestic Landscape" at New York's Museum of Modern Art. Sottsass also has had numerous one-man shows, like the one at the 1976 Biennale in Venice.
He conceived Memphis, one of the most fascinating recent phenomena in the field of furniture and object design.
He has done various kinds of teaching; during his trips abroad to study a wide variety of cultures, he has lectured and held seminars worldwide. Among the countless honors received is the honorary degree from the London Royal College of Art.
His works and critiques appear in the leading international reviews of architecture and design. Moreover, his production is covered by the fundamental essays on design and the monographs on it.
He has been working for Zanotta since 1981.