Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni

Background

Achille Castiglioni was born in Milan on 16 February 1918 and graduated in architecture from the Politecnico of Milan in 1944. From 1940 he experimented with industrial products together with his brothers Livio (1911-1979) and Pier Giacomo (1913-1968). Poltrona Frau's designer page adds that Achille and Pier Giacomo both graduated in architecture from the Polytechnic University of Milan, and that they began to work closely together immediately after the war.

Signature Style

The Achille Castiglioni Foundation says that, after graduating, Achille looked into forms, techniques and new materials with the aim of a complete design process. Poltrona Frau lists town planning, architecture and design among the brothers' interests, along with research on shapes, techniques and new materials. From 1945 to 1962 Achille ran the studio with Pier Giacomo at Corso di Porta Nuova 57 in Milan, then in Piazza Castello 27 until Pier Giacomo's death in 1968; Achille led it alone until his own death in 2002.

Notable Works

The Foundation lists nine Compasso d'Oro awards for Achille, starting with the Luminator lamp in 1955, the T 12 Palini chair in 1960 and the Pitagora coffee machine in 1962, and including the Parentesi lamp in 1979 and the Dry cutlery set in 1984. Poltrona Frau credits both brothers with the Sanluca armchair of 1961 and Achille alone with the Sanluca pouf of 1991. The brothers are known for lighting and furnishing objects and for exhibition installations.

Legacy

Achille was one of the founders of the ADI in 1956, and Poltrona Frau gives the same date for both brothers. The Foundation says the New York MoMA owns fourteen of his pieces and names museums in London, Zurich, Prato, Prague, Jerusalem, Denver and Hamburg that hold others. He taught at Turin Architecture University until 1980 and then at the Politecnico of Milan until 1993, and died in Milan on 2 December 2002.