The Triennale of Milan was founded in Monza in 1923 as the First Biennial of decorative arts, under the aegis of a consortium formed by Milan, Monza and the Società Umanitaria. Since 1933 it has been based in Milan, in the Palazzo dell'Arte, designed by Giovanni Muzio and built in eighteen months from the autumn of 1931 to the spring of 1933. Conceived by the architect as an extremely flexible container, this multifunctional structure was highly innovative at the time it was built.