Achille Castiglioni

One of the most important industrial designers of the 20th century, ACHILLE CASTIGLIONI (1918-2002) produced more than 150 products during his career and forged enduring relationships with Italian manufacturers such as Flos in lighting, Zanotta in furniture and Alessi in home products. Achille Castiglioni was born in Milan in 1918 and studied architecture there at the Polytechnic from which he graduated in 1944. As there was so little work for young Italian architects immediately after World War II, Castiglioni joined his elder brothers Livio (1911-1979) and Pier Giacomo (1913-1968) in the industrial design studio they had established on Piazza Castello in Milan with the architect Luigi Caccia Dominioni Even before graduating, he had worked with them on commercial projects such as the 1938 Caccia set of cutlery, still used in Italian homes today, and the strikingly light, svelte 1939 fi... (view more)

One of the most important industrial designers of the 20th century, ACHILLE CASTIGLIONI (1918-2002) produced more than 150 products during his career and forged enduring relationships with Italian manufacturers such as Flos in lighting, Zanotta in furniture and Alessi in home products. Achille Castiglioni was born in Milan in 1918 and studied architecture there at the Polytechnic from which he graduated in 1944. As there was so little work for young Italian architects immediately after World War II, Castiglioni joined his elder brothers Livio (1911-1979) and Pier Giacomo (1913-1968) in the industrial design studio they had established on Piazza Castello in Milan with the architect Luigi Caccia Dominioni Even before graduating, he had worked with them on commercial projects such as the 1938 Caccia set of cutlery, still used in Italian homes today, and the strikingly light, svelte 1939 five valve radio receiver they developed for Phonola. Among the most productive of these relationships was Castiglionia's work with Flos, the Italian lighting manufacturer. He and Pier Giacomo (Livio had left the studio in 1952 to work independently) developed dozens of extraordinarily inventive lights for Flos. The 1962 Arco floor lamp was modelled on a streetlight to project the light source eight feet from its heavy marble base and the Toio floor lamp of the same year was inspired by a car reflector.