Achille Castiglioni

1918-2002

Born in 1918 in Milan, Achille Castiglioni is considered one of the great masters of modern design. Following World War II, Achille joined the architecture studio run by his two older brothers Livio and Pier Giacomo. When Livio left the practice in 1952, Achille and Pier Giacomo collaborated until the latter's premature death in 1968. Throughout his career, Achille designed a wide spectrum of objects that explored the relationship between form and function. His work was clever, and always with a twist– exemplified by pieces such as the Mezzadro stool, made from a tractor seat, and the Snoopy lamp, inspired by the cartoon character. “There has to be irony both in design and in the objects,” he said. “I see around me a professional disease of taking everything too seriously. One of my secrets is to joke all the time.”