Achille Castiglioni

Achille Castiglioni has been one of the few Italian internationally recognized masters of design.

With his work and ‘good design’ philosophy, he influenced generations of artists through the twentieth-century.

Achille Castiglioni was born in 1918 and during his career he contributed to the design, or designed himself, of more than 150 objects: from lamps to car seats. Many of his designs -like the Arco and the Brera lamps- are part of the permanent collections of several museums.

Achille Castiglioni had two brothers, Pier Giacomo and Livio. After graduating, Livio and Pier Giacomo opened an office in Milan designing mainly small-scale objects due to the lack of major architectural assignments of the time.

After the end of the World War II Achille joined the studio as licensed architect.

Livio left the office in 1952 to concentrate on lighting and sound installations. Pier Giacomo and Achille, then, closely collaborated to a large number of projects -both concentrating on the same aspect instead of splitting the work- until Pier Giacomo’s early death in 1968.

Since its founding in 1921, ALESSI has pursued the creation of high-grade stainless steel kitchenware, and grown to be one of the best known“ Italian Design Factories” in the world. Among many globally prominent architects and product designers involved with ALESSI, Achille Castiglioni, an Italian industrial designer, was an early collaborator with ALESSI, and designed the ultimate wristwatch, RECORD. With its round, minimalist dial and simple Arabic figures, the watch is a timeless masterpiece.

The “stereo radiophonograph” Brionvega RR126 was designed by architects Pier Giacomo and Achille Castiglioni in 1965.

The RR126 is a high-fidelity stereo that was a great novelty at the time it was launched on the market. Its modular structure allows you to “mould” it, stacking the speakers to form a cube or aligning them into a long and narrow arrangement.

Its wood cabinet and speakers are made by hand, which is why no two pieces are ever exactly identical. And this “serial diversity” has made it a timeless success.