Achille Castiglioni Explained

Achille Castiglioni
Birth Date:16 February 1918
Birth Place:Milan, Italy
Death Place:Milan
Nationality:Italian
Awards:Compasso d'Oro and others
Alma Mater:Politecnico di Milano

Achille Castiglioni (pronounced as /it/; 16 February 1918 – 2 December 2002) was an Italian architect and designer of furniture, lighting, radiograms and other objects. As a professor of design, he advised his students "If you are not curious, forget it. If you are not interested in others, what they do and how they act, then being a designer is not the right job for you."[1] [2]

Early life and education

Castiglioni was born on 16 February 1918 in Milan, in Lombardy in northern Italy. He was the third son of the sculptor Giannino Castiglioni and his wife Livia Bolla. His elder brothers Livio and Pier Giacomo were both architects.

Castiglioni studied classics at the Liceo Classico Giuseppe Parini in Milan, and then changed schools to study the arts at the Liceo artistico di Brera. In 1937 he enrolled in the faculty of architecture of the Polytechnic University of Milan. When the Second World War broke out, he became an officer in the artillery and was stationed on the Greek front and later in Sicily. He returned to Milan before the Allied invasion of Sicily of 1943. In March 1944 he graduated from the Polytechnic University of Milan.

Work and career

Following the war, Castiglioni returned to Milan and joined the architectural design practice that his brothers Livio and Pier Giacomo had started with Luigi Caccia Dominioni in 1938. Much of their work was in exhibition design, but they also carried out a number of architectural projects, including the reconstruction in 1952–53 of the, which had been destroyed by bombing in 1943.

Livio Castiglioni left the practice in 1952. From then until Pier Giacomo died in 1968, he and Achille worked as a team; their designs are not attributable to either one of them. Together, the brothers created a number of works that explored Marcel Duchamp's concept of the ready-made by incorporating and repurposing existing objects into new designs such as the "" and "Mezzadro" stools for Zanotta in 1957.[3] [4]

During the same period the brothers experimented with new furniture typologies and concepts such the "Cubo" couch for Arflex. In 1959, they began working with Kartell, designing lighting and furniture, including a collection of tables and stools called "Rochetto".[5] [6] The Castiglioni brothers designed the "Lierna" chair for Cassina, and the "Taraxacum" chandelier for in 1960. Also for Flos, in 1962 they designed both the "Toio" lamp,[7] assembled from "ready-made" surplus hardware, and the "Arco" lamp,[8] which consists of a long arched stainless-steel cantilevered support, an adjustable shade made of perforated spun aluminium, and a heavy marble base. These projects were followed in 1964 by the "Splüghen Braü" pendant light, and the "RR 126" radiogram for Brionvega.

After the death of Pier Giacomo, Castiglioni worked alone.

From 1969 he taught architectural and design subjects, first at the Politecnico di Torino, and then, from 1980 when he became an ordinario or full professor, at the Politecnico di Milano.

Achille Castiglioni died in Milan in 2002.

Legacy

Throughout his lifetime, Castiglioni received many awards and distinctions for his designs, including eight Compasso d'Oro awards, as well as the Compasso d'Oro Career Award "for having raised design to the highest values of culture through his irreplaceable experience."[9] [10] His designs are held in museum collections around the world and several books have been published about his life and work.[11] [12] [13]

In 1997, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York staged a retrospective of his life and work titled: "Achille Castiglioni: Design!". The exhibition was curated by Paola Antonelli, who also wrote the catalogue.[14] [15] [16]

In 2014 the city of Milan named a street after the three Castiglioni brothers (Via Fratelli Castiglioni).[17]

Archives and collections

The Studio Museum of the Achille Castiglioni foundation in Milan holds archival records of 191 architectural projects, 484 installation projects and 290 industrial design projects. A total of c. 11,500 technical drawings and freehand sketches is complemented by 130 plastic models, boxes and drawers containing photographs, slides, glass plates and negatives, videocassettes, DVDs, audio cassettes, extracts from magazines, books, catalogues, and objects collected by Achille Castiglioni.[18]

Additional Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni works and archives are held by the University of Parma.[19]

Museums which hold Castiglioni's works in their collections include the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London, Kunstgewerbe Museum in Zurich, Staatliches Museum für angewandte Kunst in Munich, Design Museum in Prato, Israel Museum in Jerusalem, Denver Art Museum, Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt, and the Museum für Angewandte Kunst Cologne, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, and the ADI Design Museum in Milan.[20]

Awards and honours

Partial list of works

Architecture

Exhibition and interior design


Industrial, product, lighting, and furniture design

Publications

Source:

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Original Italian: "Se non siete curiosi, lasciate perdere. Se non vi interessano gli altri, ciò che fanno e come agiscono, allora quello del designer non è un mestiere per voi."
  2. Web site: La voce del Maestro. Achille Castiglioni . 2022-11-01 . corraini.com . it.
  3. Web site: 2022-11-23 . Design Museum's Objects of Desire exhibition explores "what surrealism is and why it matters now" . 2022-11-23 . Dezeen . en.
  4. Web site: Objects of Desire: Surrealism and Design 1924 – Today . 2022-11-23 . Design Museum . en.
  5. Web site: On the occasion of the Salone del Mobile 2018, the KARTELL museum opens a new exhibition dedicated to Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni Kartell . 2022-10-02 . www.kartell.com.
  6. Web site: Kartell Rocchetto Stool designed by P-G. and A. Castiglioni, Denver Art Museum . 2022-10-02 . www.denverartmuseum.org.
  7. Web site: Achille Castiglioni, Pier Giacomo Castiglioni. Toio Floor Lamp. 1962 MoMA . 2022-09-13 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
  8. Web site: Achille Castiglioni, Pier Giacomo Castiglioni. Arco Floor Lamp. 1962 MoMA . 2022-09-13 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
  9. Web site: Compasso d'oro Career Award . 2022-09-17 . ADI Design Museum . en-US.
  10. Web site: Marelli . Di Carlotta . 2018-09-26 . L'incoerenza creativa di Achille Castiglioni in 24 progetti-icona . 2022-09-17 . ELLE Decor . it-IT.
  11. Book: Polano, Sergio . Achille Castiglioni : complete works . 2002 . Electa Architecture . Achille Castiglioni . 1-904313-04-3 . Milano . 51012945.
  12. Book: Vercelloni, Matteo . Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni . 24 ore cultura . Achille Castiglioni, Pier Giacomo Castiglioni . 2011 . 978-88-6648-025-9 . Pero (Milan), Italy . 783446242.
  13. Book: Polano, Sergio . Achille Castiglioni (1918-2002) . 2006 . Electa . Achille Castiglioni . 88-370-4291-4 . 1. ed. pbk . Milano . 68598634.
  14. Web site: Curated by Paola Antonelli . Achille Castiglioni: Design! MoMA . 2022-10-01 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
  15. Web site: Antonelli . Paola . Achille Castiglioni: Design! . 2022-10-01 . Museum of Modern Art.
  16. Book: Antonelli, Paola . Achille Castiglioni . 2000 . Corraini . Illustrations by Steven Guarnaccia . 88-87942-02-1 . Mantova . 47283354.
  17. Web site: 29 November 2001. Via Fratelli Castiglioni in Milano . 2022-11-13 . Nuove Strade [New Streets] . it.
  18. Web site: SIUSA – Castiglioni Achille . 2022-10-30 . siusa.archivi.beniculturali.it.
  19. Web site: 2021-02-03 . Design! Objects, processes, experiences . 2022-10-30 . CSAC Centro Studi e Archivio della Comunicazione . en-US.
  20. Web site: Achille Castiglioni Créateur de mobilier, Pompidou Centre . 2022-10-30 . The Centre Pompidou.
  21. Web site: Designculture • Achille Castiglioni . 2022-09-17 . www.designculture.it.
  22. Web site: LUMINATOR LAMP . 2022-09-17 . ADI Design Museum . en-US.
  23. Web site: T.12 PALINI . 2022-09-17 . ADI Design Museum . en-US.
  24. Web site: FONDAZIONE ACHILLE CASTIGLIONI . 2022-09-17 . en.
  25. Web site: SPINAMATIC . 2022-09-17 . ADI Design Museum . it-IT.
  26. Web site: LAMPADA PARENTESI . 2022-09-17 . ADI Design Museum . it-IT.
  27. Web site: admin . 2022-03-23 . 10 famosi oggetti politecnici da Compasso d'Oro . 2022-09-17 . Alumni . it-IT.
  28. Web site: LETTO TR 15 . 2022-09-17 . ADI Design Museum . it-IT.
  29. Web site: ADI – Associazione per il Disegno Industriale . 2022-09-17 . www.adi-design.org.
  30. Web site: Past Royal Designers for Industry . 2022-09-27 . The RSA . en.
  31. Web site: iF – Design Center Stuttgart . 2022-09-17 . ifdesign.com . de.
  32. Web site: Premi e riconoscimenti . 2022-09-17 . en-US.
  33. Web site: Targhe-dOro-UID-1982-2007 . UID Unione Italiana per il Disegno.
  34. Web site: Achille Castiglioni, Pier Giacomo Castiglioni. Spalter Electric Vacuum Cleaner. 1956 MoMA . 2022-12-10 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
  35. Web site: Secco and Dolce Cutlery for the Competition Held by Reed & Barton — de architects . 2022-11-16 . de-architects.com . en.
  36. Web site: MoMA.org Interactives Exhibitions 1997 Achille Castiglioni: Design! Checklist . 2022-11-16 . www.moma.org.
  37. Web site: Zagaria . Di Elisa . 2022-10-18 . La lampada Taraxacum di Achille Castiglioni, eterea e vaporosa come un soffione . 2022-11-13 . ELLE Decor . it-IT.
  38. Web site: ACETOLIERE contenitori per olio e aceto . 2023-01-19 . FONDAZIONE ACHILLE CASTIGLIONI . en.
  39. Book: Ferrari, Paolo . Achille Castiglioni . 1984 . Electa . Achille Castiglioni . 88-435-1046-0 . Milano . 15540497.
  40. Book: Sparke, Penny . Design in Italy : 1870 to the present . 1988 . Abbeville Press . 0-89659-884-5 . 1 . New York . 17548762.
  41. Book: Antonelli, Paola . Achille Castiglioni . 2000 . Corraini . Steven Guarnaccia . 88-87942-02-1 . 1 . Mantova . 47283354.
  42. Book: La voce del maestro: Achille Castiglioni . 2014 . Achille Castiglioni . 978-88-7570-442-1 . Mantova . it . The master's voice: Achille Castiglioni . 881825757.

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