Brionvega Explained

Type:Private
Predecessor:B.P.M. Radio
Vega BP Radio
Founder:
Onorina Tomasin-Brion
Leone Pajetta
Location City:Pordenone
Location Country:Italy
Area Served:Worldwide
Industry:Consumer electronics
Products:Television sets, Radiograms, Phonographs, Radios
Homepage:

Brionvega is an Italian electronics company that is known for manufacturing futuristic television sets and audio equipment, its contributions to post-second world war technological and social advancement in Italian industry, collaborations with well known industrial designers and architects, and its impact on the aesthetics of 1960s Italian design.

History

The company was founded in 1945 in Milan by (who had previously worked at and), Onorina Tomasin-Brion, and Leone Pajetta. Initially named B.P.M. Radio, then changed to Vega BP Radio, and finally "BRIONVEGA", when the company was rebranded in 1963.[1]

In 1954 Brionvega introduced the first Italian made television sets after entering into a contract with the country's national broadcaster RAI.

In the early 1960s Brionvega began working with notable architects and industrial designers including Franco Albini, Sergio Asti,, brothers Achille, Livio, and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Mario Bellini, Richard Sapper, and Marco Zanuso.[2] These collaborations resulted in a decade of design innovation and the introduction of products such as the Algol 11 and Doney 14[3] television sets, TS 502 "Cubo" radio, the radiogram, which was introduced in 1966, followed by the "Cubo" television in 1969.[4] [5] [6] [7]

The designs that the company manufactured during this period were recognised in their time with awards such as the Compasso d'Oro and Biennale of Design (BIO),[8] [9] [10] and have since become regarded as icons of 1960s Italian design.[11] [12] Alba Cappellieri writing for Domus magazine stated that, "You could write a telling history of Italian post-war industrial design almost entirely through the products of Brionvega".

In more recent decades, the company continued its practice of collaboration with acclaimed designers including Ettore Sottsass, Michael Young,[13] and,[14] periodically introducing new products such as the Alpha LCD television, presented at Salone del Mobile in 2007, and the WearIt portable speaker in 2016.[15] [16] [17] [18] An updated version of the original Cubo television was produced in 1992 with the same exterior casing and updated electronics.[19] Two of the other 1960s products, the Doney and Algol television sets, were also re-issued in limited edition runs.[20] The TS 502 portable radio and the RR 126 radiogram have both been re-issued and updated in several different versions.[21] [22]

In 1992, the Brion family sold the company to Italian electronics manufacturer Sèleco (which was subsequently acquired by in 1998, and eventually declared bankrupt in 2004).[23] Brionvega has gone through several changes of ownership since,[24] and as of 2022 was still active marketing re-editions of the designs from its 1960s and 1970s heyday, as well as some more recent products.[25] [26]

Many of the company's products are held in museum collections including the ADI Design Museum in Milan, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Victoria and Albert in London, the Powerhouse Museum (Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences) in Sydney, and the Cooper Hewitt and Museum of Modern Art in New York.[27] [28] [29] [30] [31]

The University of Parma holds a large collection of archival material relating to the company including sketches, drawings, prototypes, examples of Brionvega products, brochures and advertising materials. The National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan also holds a number of Brionvega products in its collection.[32]

In 2016 a Brionvega RR 126 radiogram once owned by the singer David Bowie was sold by Sotheby's in London for £257,000.[33] [34]

Gallery

Designer

Publications

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cappellieri . Alba . Brionvega. A brief history of the black box . 2023-03-06 . www.domusweb.it . en-gb.
  2. Web site: Collezione Musei . 2023-03-02 . University of Parma Collections . it.
  3. The metadata embedded in the photograph of the Brionvega Algol 11 in this article's "Gallery" section makes the claim that: "The first transistor television in Europe was the Doney 14 designed by Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper for Brionvega in 1962..." [{{lang-it|Il primo televisore a transitor in Europa si ebbe nel 1962 su progetto di Marco Zanuso e Richard Sapper per la Brionvega, era il Doney 14...}}] (See "Notizie storico-critiche" from the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci included in the metadata of object photograph.)
  4. Web site: DONEY . 2022-09-02 . ADI Design Museum . en-US.
  5. Web site: Marco Zanuso, Richard Sapper. Radio (model TS 502). 1963 MoMA . 2022-09-02 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
  6. Web site: Marco Zanuso, Richard Sapper. Doney 14 Television Set. 1962 MoMA . 2022-09-01 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
  7. Web site: Marco Zanuso, Richard Sapper. Algol 11 Black and White Television. 1964 MoMA . 2022-09-01 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
  8. Web site: Ljubljana Biennale of Design (BIO) – About BIO . 2022-11-11 . Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) .
  9. Web site: RR 130 FO/ST "Totem" – Mario Bellini Architects . 2023-03-09 . it-IT.
  10. Web site: Brion Rina, Cavaliere del Lavoro . July 19, 2023 . Palazzo del Quirinale.
  11. Web site: Radio TS502 . 2023-03-06 . Museo Omero . en-US.
  12. Web site: Salis . Stefano . 2021-09-07 . C'era una volta l'icona Perché ora è difficile avere oggetti di culto . 2023-03-07 . Il Sole 24 ORE . it.
  13. Web site: 2015-11-11 . Brionvega: Industrial Design HK: Bluetooth Speaker . 2023-05-10 . Michael Young . en.
  14. Web site: 2021-06-18 . Brionvega Designers: Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper, Michael Young, Ettore Sottsass, Mario Bellini, Hannes Wettstein . 2023-03-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210618105106/https://brionvega.com/it/design/designer.html . 2021-06-18 .
  15. No longer in production (March 2023).
  16. Web site: Morris . Ali . 2015-11-11 . Sound solution: Michael Young teams up with Brionvega to create a smart speaker . 2023-03-04 . wallpaper.com . en.
  17. Web site: 2015-11-10 . Michael Young designs portable WearIt speakers for Brionvega . 2023-03-06 . Dezeen . en.
  18. Web site: Colturri . Fabio . 2020-06-08 . Brionvega's Alpha Television by V12 Design . 2023-03-07 . DesignWanted . en-US.
  19. Web site: Cuboglass TV History . brionvega.it.
  20. Web site: 2008 Brionvega reissues . brionvega.tv.
  21. Web site: Delisi . Alessia . 2022-12-16 . La radio Cubo di Brionvega, icona intramontabile oggi in versione tecnologica . Architectural Digest, Condé Nast Italia.
  22. Web site: TS502 (first version) Radio Vega, BP Radio, Brionvega, Brion & Pajetta . 2023-03-05 . www.radiomuseum.org.
  23. Web site: Seleco ammessa alla . 2023-03-07 . Archivio – Messaggero Veneto . it.
  24. Companies mentioned in various sources as owners of the brand include: SIM 2 Multimedia, spa; Super//Fluo; and BV 2 srl, Milano. (Better sources needed.)
  25. Web site: Bell . Jonathan . 2022-01-05 . Brionvega's Mario Bellini reissue is the ultimate 1970s hi-fi design . 2023-03-07 . wallpaper.com . en.
  26. Web site: French . Ian . 2022-01-24 . Brionvega updates Totem stereo system for its 50th anniversary . 2023-05-10 . Decoded Magazine . en-US.
  27. Web site: Brionvega, Pompidou Centre Collection . 2023-03-03 . www.centrepompidou.fr.
  28. Web site: Brionvega, V&A collection . 2023-03-06 . Victoria and Albert Museum . en.
  29. Web site: 2017-03-06 . Algol 11 before Apollo 11: Sapper and Zanuso's TV Set for Brionvega Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum . 2022-09-02 . www.cooperhewitt.org . en-US.
  30. Web site: Mario Bellini. Totem Stereo System with Detachable Speakers (model RR 130). 1970 MoMA . 2022-09-02 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
  31. Web site: Brionvega Cubo television by Mario Bellini and Design Centre Brionvega . 2023-05-10 . collection.maas.museum . en.
  32. Many of the photographs in the "Gallery" section of this article are from the museum's collection and include detailed information about the objects (in Italian).
  33. Web site: Svetlik . Joe . 2016-11-15 . Home . 2023-03-04 . whathifi . en.
  34. Web site: Gleadell . Colin . 2016-07-14 . David Bowie's Art Collection to Be Auctioned . 2023-03-04 . Artnet News . en-US.

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