Biography of Achille Castiglioni

The industry of art

February 16, 1918
December 2, 2002
Achille Castiglioni was born in Milan on February 16, 1918. He studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano and graduated in 1944. The father Giannino's sculptor: sue are the fountain of Saint Francis in Sant'Angelo square in Milan, and the door of the Duomo in Milan in the part concerning the life of Sant'Ambrogio). His elder brothers Livio (1911-1979) and Pier Giacomo (1913-1968) have an architectural Office in piazza Castello in Milan. Already since 1940 Achille works at the firm helping the brothers, then in 1944 he devoted himself with them in a stable manner to projects of urban planning, architecture, exhibitions and product design.
The study addressed its attention to experimenting on industrial products, carrying out research into shapes, techniques and new materials: the ultimate goal is to create a complete design process. In 1944 Achille Castiglioni and the brothers participate in the VII Triennale di Milano where he presents the IRR126, radio equipment designed for industrial production. At one point the eldest of the brothers, Livio, will focus heavily on developing projects related to radio.
The writer Dino Buzzati, to emphasize the harmony of the Castiglioni brothers will come to compare them to "a body with a head alone". In the years 1952-1953 deals with the reconstruction of the Palazzo della Permanente in Milan. In 1956 he was one of the founders of ADI, the Tógazda hunting for industrial design. There are numerous awards in recent years: between 1955 and 1979 WINS seven awards the Golden Compass; the Triennale won numerous awards: in 1947 a bronze medal, in 1951 and in 1954 a Grand Prix, in 1957 a silver medal and a gold medal, a gold medal in 1960 and in 1963 another silver medal. In 1969 Castiglioni follows at the Ministry of education Lecturer in "artistic design for industry": held the Chair of Professor of industrial design at the Faculty of architecture in Turin until 1980 and then in Milan until 1993.
By Castiglioni recall works such as the Sharecropper Chair, the Chair seat (1957), the armchair Sanluca (1959), the desk lamp Sheath (1951), the Luminator floor lamp (1955), the Arco floor lamp produced by Flos (1962), the table lamp T (1962), the seat moon landing (1962), the Toio floor lamp. The national and international recognition have never stopped coming: his career has always varied in the field of architecture and urban planning; should the reputation internationally for its projects in the field of lighting and furniture, as well as for the spectacular productions realized worldwide. Fourteen of his principal works can be found at the MoMA in New York; The MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), with the works of Achille Castiglioni, achieved in Manhattan the largest retrospective ever devoted to an Italian designer.
In addition to other important American Museum galleries exhibiting his works including: the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Kunstgewerbe Museum in Zurich, the Staatliches Museum fur Angewandte Kunst in Munich, the Design Museum, the Uneleckoprumyslove of Prague, the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, The Denver Art Museum, Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, applied Arts Museum in Hamburg and Cologne. Among the companies that have benefited from the work of Achille Castiglioni (also teamed with his brother Pier Giacomo) for their serial productions include: Alessi, Zanotta, Flos, Kartell, Lancia, Ideal Standard, Siemens, Bernini, Knoll, Poggi, Italtel, Longoni, Nagano, Omsa, Phonola, theorem and Arflex. Achille Castiglioni dies on December 2, 2002, at the age of 84 years, following a fall in his studio in Milan. His body rests in the Abbey of Clairvaux.
Article contributed by the team of collaborators.