Achille Castiglioni was a well-known Italian designer working in the 20th century. He took inspiration from everyday objects and emerging industrial processes to reinvent objects by giving them new forms and materials. Many of his designs, particularly for lighting, have become iconic, and have influenced other designers ever since. He is often considered to be one of Italy’s most influential designers. Achille Castiglioni: a biography Achille Castiglioni was born on 26 February 1918 in Milan. He studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano, graduating in 1944, after which he opened a design studio together with his two brothers Livio and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni. While Livio left the practice in 1952, the two others continued to work together until Pier’s death in 1968, together producing the famous Arco floor lamp (1962) and the Toio floor lamp (1962). After this point, famous designs by Castiglioni such as the Frisbi pendant lamp (1978) and Taraxacum 88 S (1988) pendant lamp, were produced under Achille’s name alone. In 1956, Achille Castiglioni founded the Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (ADI) and curated the exhibition "Colori e forme nella casa d'oggi", held in the Villa Olmo at Como. From 1947 onwards, Castiglioni exhibited his work at every edition of the Milan Triennale until his death, and was seven-time winner of the Compasso d'Oro design prize given there. He was also was an honorary member of the Association of Industrial Designers of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Many objects by Achille Castiglioni are widely considered to be design classics, and are still in production today. Indeed, some of his most important designs are held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Toio Lamp: a design classic The Toio Lamp was designed in 1962 by the brothers Achille and Pier Castiglioni. Due to its high industrial style and timeless design, the luminaire has won many awards and forms part of the permanent exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. Castiglioni’s vision of design was that it should be an all encompassing force, influencing the usage, appearance, and manufacturing process of modern objects. The Toio Lamp reinvented the lamp by bringing together all of these aspects of design, and was also inspired by everyday objects: a car headlight, a transformer, and steel brackets. Many of Castiglioni’s designs had this distinctly down-to-earth character grounded in the realities of industrial manufacturing. Achille Castiglioni’s Frisbi Lamp Designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1978 for the Italian lighting brand Flos, the Frisbi Lamp is a classic pendant lamp typical of Castiglioni’s style. Using a minimal number of elements – a razor-thin, doughnut-shaped disk hanging from three wires below a smaller lampshade – Castiglioni created an ingeniously simple design. The form is futuristic because the deconstructed shade appears to float below the bulb, while on a function level the luminaire provides a mixture of direct, reflected and diffuse light. The Flos Taraxacum Lamp: a modern pendant lamp The Taraxacum 88 Lamp was created in 1988 by Achille Castiglioni for Flos, and is now one of his best-known works. The name "Taraxacum" is the scientific name for dandelions, and Castiglioni tried to create a modern pendant inspired by the plant’s form. The Taraxacum Lamp is formed as a large, faceted ball covered in individual light bulbs, which became an instant classic and continues to be used in many styles of interiors to this day. © by Architonic

Antonio Citterio was born in Meda in 1950. He graduated in architecture from Milan Polytechnic and opened his studio in 1972 where he started his architectural and interior design business. Between 1987 and 1996 he worked in association with Terry Dwan and, together, they created buildings in Europe and Japan. Among his most significant works: the restyling of a block in the historical centre of Seregno, Esprit headquarters in Amsterdam, Antwerp and Milan, industrial plants for Vitra, in Germany, and for Antonio Fusco, in Milan. In 1999 “Antonio Citterio and Partners” was founded by Citterio and Patricia Viel, a multidisciplinary practice for architectural design, industrial design and graphics. Patricia Viel was born in Milano in 1962. She graduated in architecture from Milan Polytechnic in 1987 and she started her collaboration with Antonio Citterio in 1986. From 2005 she is member of the National Institute of Architecture IN/ARCH. The firm develops projects for residential complexes, apartment buildings, hotels, trade centres, industrial sites, restructuring of public buildings, planning of workspace, offices and showrooms; it is also operational in the field of corporate communication - implementing corporate image projects, fittings, graphics. From January 2007 the firm is UNI EN ISO 9001:2000 certified. In the field of industrial design Antonio Citterio works for Italian and foreign companies such as Ansorg, Arclinea, Axor-Hansgrohe, Aubrilam, B&B Italia, Flexform, Flos, Fusital, Guzzini, Iittala, Inda, Kartell, Maxalto, Sanitec Group - Pozzi Ginori, Simon Urmet, Technogym, Tre Più, Vitra. In 2000 the new headquarters opened in Milan, Via Cerva 4, and in May of that same year new offices were opened in Hamburg, 75b Wrangelstrasse. In 2002 the construction of the building where the headquarters of the Edel Company are located, along the Elba river, was completed as well as an office building in Neuerwall, two constructions for offices and textile manufacturing in Legnano and Lecco and the headquarters of the CR&S Centre completed with showroom and offices for B&B Italia in Novedrate. Between 2003 and 2004, a corporate image project was implemented for De Beers (London and Tokyo) and, in May 2004, the Bulgari Hotel was inaugurated in Milan, the first of a chain of luxury hotels known as “Bulgari Hotels and Resorts”. In 2005 the restructuring of the historical Town Hall of Clusone, the project for the headquarters and nursery of the drug company GlaxoSmithKline in Verona, the project for a law firm in Sondrio, Italy were completed; added to this two projects for private house, one in Basel, Switzerland, the other in Sardinia, Italy and the jewellery De Beers in Los Angeles. In September 2006 has been inaugurated the Bulgari Resort in Bali, the Aspesi showroom in Milan and the pedestrian square “Michele Alboreto” in Rozzano. In 2007 the Bulgari restaurant and cafè opened in Tokyo, Ginza district. In January 2008 was completed the building for the New Ermenegildo Zegna Headquarters. The project for the new “Technogym Village” in Cesena (production site, offices and trade centre), a new square in Busto Arsizio; the functional restructuring, furniture and security of the Southern Pier in Marina di Ravenna, the renovation of the urban ex-Martinelli area in Morbegno, all in Italy, master planning and private houses are underway. Antonio Citterio and Partners took part in a great number of international competitions. In 2004: project in cooperation with other architects to change the historical centre of Fiera Milano into a new urban centre; project for the building of the “Brooktorhafen” bridge in the new “Hafencity” district in Hamburg; project to enlarge a new multifunctional school building and a kindergarten for the Deutsche School in Milan. In the same year, together with other architects, he won the competition for the functional arrangement, street furniture and security systems of Molo Guardiano sud / Marina di Ravenna, which was presented on the occasion of the 9th International Exhibition of Architecture of the Biennale of Venice, section “Towns on Water”. In the year 2004, publishing company Electa launched the monography “Antonio Citterio Industrial design”. In 2005, Antonio Citterio and Partners won the competition for the project of an hotel in the Hafencity district in Hamburg and received the 2nd prize at the international design competition for the hotel facilities in the new exhibition grounds of Rho-Pero. In the same year the Neumühlen project receives the 2nd prize from the Hamburg Architektur Preis and a special mention from the Deutscher Architektur Preis. Still in 2005, written by Luigi Prestinenza Pugliesi and published by Edilstampa, the monography “Antonio Citterio” has been issued. In the same year, he received 2nd prize at the design competition for Parco Levante Cesenatico and wins the international architectural competition for the renovation of the Ferrante Aporti building (former Italian post office) in Milan. In 2007: the Mies van der Rohe Award jury selects the project for the GlaxoSmithKline day nursery in Verona; the Italian publishing house Skira issued the monograph “Antonio Citterio. Architettura e Design”; 2nd prize at the international design competition for the Diocesano Museum in Milan. From 2006, Antonio Citterio is professor at the Accademia di Architettura dell’Università della Svizzera Italiana and from 2007 he is member of the Italian Design Council. In 2007 he received the “Royal Designer for Industry” award from the “Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce” in London.