Achille Castiglioni
![Allunaggio [Outdoor] Stool Zanotta](https://www.einrichten-design.co.uk/thumbnail/9f/09/e0/1597952428/Zanotta Allunaggio [Outdoor] Stuhl6f9c7_800x800.jpg "Allunaggio [Outdoor] Stool Zanotta")
![Mezzadro [1957] Miniatur Stool Vitra](https://www.einrichten-design.co.uk/thumbnail/f3/d2/3c/1597940544/vitra-mezzadro-miniatur_big_1_jpg.jpg_1_400x400.jpg "Mezzadro [1957] Miniatur Stool Vitra")
Achille Castiglioni - an Italian design pioneer
The Italian architect and industrial designer Achille Castiglioni was born in Milan in 1918 and died there in 2002. He studied architecture at the Milan Polytechnic and graduated in 1944.
In 1945, he founded his own architecture office together with his brothers Pier Giacomo (*1913, †1968) and Livio (*1911, †1979), who had already attracted attention in 1938 with their combination radio "Phonola". Castiglioni had a lasting influence on Italian post-war design through his basic research in design theory and his versatile product designs. His name stands especially for the development of modern lighting. His table lamp "Taccia", designed in 1962 for Flos, and the model "Noce 1", whose pressed glass bowl is based on the shape and structure of a nut, became classics.
He also designed furniture and technical equipment, built churches, private houses and the "Permanente" tower in Milan. In 1981 he was entrusted with the chair of interior and industrial design at the Faculty of Architecture of the Milan Polytechnic. Castiglioni's clients were the companies Flos, Gavina, Kartell, Zanotta, B&B, Siemens and Fiat.
One of Castiglioni's early furniture designs that caused an international sensation and can now be seen in the permanent exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York was the "Mezzadro" stool, dating from 1957, which was produced by Zanotta, as well as the "Sella" model (with Pier Giacomo Castiglioni), which consists of a bicycle saddle on a steel rod and is intended as a seat for making phone calls.
Mobile and casual living was Castiglioni's guiding principle when designing the furniture. As a committed advocate of redesign, he created the "Cumano" folding table in 1979. As a lighting designer, Castiglioni designed the "Arco" model together with his brother Pier Giacomo in 1962.
His objects won him the Compasso d'Oro several times, and some of his creations are on display in the permanent exhibition of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. © Königsdorfer Medienhaus, Frechen
