Achille Castiglioni

Achille Castiglioni, Italy (1918-2002)

Born in Milan in 1918, he graduated in Architecture in 1944.

Since 1940 he had dedicated himself to experimenting on industrial products with his brothers Livio ((1911-1979) and Pier Giacomo (1913-1968). Their interests were directed towards Urban Planning, Architecture and Design; they performed analysis and research on new forms , techniques and materials, aimed at developing a process of "integral design".

In 1969, he was nominated Professor of "Artistic Industrial Design? He chaired the Faculty of Architecture in Turin until 1980 and taught in Milan until 1993 as Professor of" Industrial Design? At the Polytechnic of Milan.

In 1956 he was one of the founders of ADI (Association for Design Industry).

MoMA's permanent collection in New York hosts 14 of his works.

Other works may be found in the following museums:

Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Kunstgewerbe Museum in Zurich, Staatliches Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Munich, Design Museum in Prato, Uneleckoprumyslove Museum in Prague, Israel Museum in Jerusalem, The Denver Art Museum, Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Angewandte Kunst Museum in Hamburg and Koln.

In 1995 on the occasion of the award "Primavera del Design? His" personal? Exhibition "A la Castiglioni? Was organized in Barcelona and then again at the Furniture Fair in Milan, at the Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery in Bergamo, in 1997 at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, at the MoMA in New York, in 1998 at the Living Design Center Ozone in Tokyo, at the Art Museum in Niitsu and at the De Beyerd Museum in Breda.

Very many objects designed by Achille Castiglioni have been produced by remarkable companies such as: Aerotecnica Italiana, Alessi, Aura, Brionvega, Bernini, B & B Italia, BBB Bonacina, Cedit, Cimbali, Danese, Driade, Feg, Flos, Fusital, Cassina , Gavina, Ideal Standard, Italtel, Il Coccio Umidificatori, Interflex, Lancia Auto, Longoni, Marcatrè, Moroso, Nagano, Olivetti Synthesis, Omsa, Ortotecnica, Phonola Radio, Poltrona Frau, Poggi, Phoebus Alter, Perani Fonderie, Rem, San Giorgio elettrodomestici, Teorema, Kartell, Up & Up, VLM, Zanotta.

His professional activities spanned throughout the fields of Architecture and Urban Planning; he earned international recognitions for his projects applied to serial production in the fields of lighting fixtures and furniture as well as for his breathtaking installations realized around the world.

Achille Castiglioni died in Milan on December 2, 2002