Achille Castiglioni

Achille Castiglioni (born February 16, 1918 in Milan ; † December 6, 2002 ibid) was an Italian industrial designer .

biography

The Mezzadro from 1957

Industrial design pavilion designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni . Photo by Paolo Monti , 1954.

After studying architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan , he founded a design office in 1944 with his brothers Livio and Pier Giacomo (1913–1968). Thanks to their simple, businesslike style, the brothers were among the most important designers of the Italian post-war period. They became known for reassembling existing products in sometimes surprising ways. Two of their lamps , the Toio floor lamp - a car headlight mounted on a steel rod - and the Parentesi hanging lamp, were added to the collection of the New York Museum of Modern Art .

On the occasion of the XI. Milan Triennial 1957 they presented their "Mezzadro" tractor chair, the designers used a commercially available tractor seat and attached it to a cantilever steel bow with a wing nut. For stabilization, they used a cross piece of wood that resembles a ladder rung.

One of the great masterpieces of Italian design is the " Lierna chair ", a dining room chair in lacquered wood that the Castiglioni brothers designed for the furniture manufacturer Cassina in 1960.

Works architecture

• 1952–1953 Torre della PERMANENTE, Milan
• 1956 Parish Church of San Gabriele Arcangelo in Mater Dei
• 1958 Building of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Milan
• 1960 Splügen-Bräu brewery, Milan
• 1968 OMEGA office building, Piazza Duomo, Milan
• 1969 Castiglioni house, Milan

Exhibitions

• 1957 "Colori e forme nella casa d'oggi", Villa Olmo in Como
• 1963 "Vie d'acqua da Milano al mare", Palazzo Reale, Milan
• 1965 "La casa abitata", Palazzo Strozzi, Florence
• 1984 "Achille Castiglioni", Austrian Museum for Applied Arts, Vienna
• 1988 "Le città del mondo e il futuro delle metropoli", XVII Triennale, Palazzo dell'arte, Milan
• 1995 "A la Castiglioni", Center d'Art Santa Monica, Barcelona

Industrial design

• 1957 Sella , seating furniture for Zanotta
• 1957 Mezzadro , seating furniture for Zanotta
• 1960 Lierna , seating for Gavina (later Gavina , Meritalia ), whose name is derived from the town on Lake Como Lierna , with Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
• 1960 Sanluca , armchair for Gavina (later Knoll , Bernini , Poltrona Frau )
• 1960 Taraxacum , Viscontea , lamp for Heisenkeil (today Flos )
• 1962 Gatto , Gatto Piccolo , lamp for Heisenkeil (today Flos )
• 1962 Sleek , spoon for Kraft and Alessi
• 1962 Toio , floor lamp for Flos
• 1962 Taccia , table lamp for Flos
• 1962 Arco , floor lamp for Flos
• 1962 Pitagora , espresso machine for La Cimbali
• 1964 Splüghen Bräu , suspension lamp for Flos (together with Piergiacomo Castiglioni)
• 1965 Orseggi , service made of glasses, carafe and decanter for Arnolfo di Cambio and Alessi
• 1965 Firenze , wall clock Lorenz and Alessi
• 1966 Allunaggio , chair for Zanotta
• 1967 Snoopy , table lamp for Flos (together with Piergiacomo Castiglioni)
• 1968 Interruttore rompitratta , for VLM
• 1970 Primate , chair for Zanotta
• 1970 Parentesi , lamp for Flos
• 1971 Spirale , ashtray for Alessi
• 1972 Lampadina , table lamp for Flos
• 1972 Noce , table and wall lamp for Flos
• 1975 Aoy , table lamp for Flos
• 1976 Bibip , floor lamp for Flos
• 1977 Cumano , three-legged table for Zanotta
• 1978 Frisbi , suspension lamp for Flos
• 1980 Gibigiana , table lamp for Flos
• 1982 Dry , dishes for Alessi
• 1982 Moni , lamp for Flos
• 1982 Giovi , lamp for Flos
• 1983 Paro , mug for Danese
• 1984 Stylos , floor lamp for Flos
• 1988 Taraxacum88 , lamp for Flos
• 1989 Record , wristwatch for Alessi
• 1990 Joy , furniture for Zanotta
• 1992 Brera , lamp for Flos
• 1995 Fruttiera scolatoio , for Alessi
• 1995 Tavolo 95 , for De Padova
• 1995 Mate , Supremate and Minimate , trays for De Padova
• 1996 Scrittarello , desk for De Padova
• 1996 Fucsia , suspension lamp for Flos
• 1997 Bavero , service for Alessi
• 1998 Diabolo , lamp for Flos

Awards

• 1955 Premio Compasso d'Oro for the Luminator lamp
• 1960 Premio Compasso d'oro for the T 12 Palini chair
• 1962 Premio Compasso d'oro for the Pitagora espresso machine
• 1964 Premio Compasso d'oro for the Spinamatic beer tap
• 1967 Premio Compasso d'oro for headphones for simultaneous translators
• 1979 Premio Compasso d'oro for the Parentesi lamp
• 1979 Compasso d'oro award for the Omsa hospital bed
• 1984 Premio Compasso d'oro for the Dry cutlery
• 1985 Honorary Member of the Committee of Advisors at the Art Center College of Design at Pasadena , California and Montreaux , Switzerland
• 1986 Honorary Member of the Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry of the Royal Society of Art, London
• 1987 Honorary Doctorate from the Royal College of Art in London
• 1989 Compasso d'Oro, Special Mention: “For elevating design to the greatest cultural value thanks to his irreplaceable experience”.
• 1993 annual award “The Chartered Society of Designers” in London
• 1994 Prize “Primavera del Design” from the Dipartimento di Cultura di Catalunya
• 1995 “Art sur Table” award from the Conseil National des Art Culinaire, Paris
• 1996 “IF Design Competition” prize from the Industrie Forum Design, Hanover
• 1996 “Longevity-Longevity” award from the Stuttgart Design Center
• 1999 Domus / INARCH Prize 1998 alla carriera da INARCH.
• 1999 “Targa d'Oro Unione Italiana per il Disegno” award from the Facoltà di Architettura in Genoa
• 1999 First place in the “Sostegni per l'Ambiente” competition with Michele De Lucchi
• 2001 Honorary Doctorate in Industrial Design from the Politecnico di Milano

Collections

• Sedia Lierna in the Triennale di Milano museum, Italy
• Sedia Mezzadro in the Museum of Modern Art, New York
• Lampada Toio in the Museum of Modern Art, New York
• Lampada Arco in the Museum of Modern Art, New York
• Poltrona Primate in the Museum of Modern Art, New York
• Lampada Luminator in the Museum of Modern Art, New York

Web links

Commons : Achille Castiglioni  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Achille and Pierre Giacomo Castiglioni on the website of the Museum of Modern Art (English, with images of the works)
• Achille Castiglioni on the side of the Design Museum (English)
• Achille Castiglioni on the Designboom page (English, with images of his works)
• Achille Castiglioni Design