Italian Mid-Century Design Masters: Achille Castiglioni

Achille Castiglioni was born in Italy in 1918 and during his fifty-plus design career designed -or collaborated to- more than 150 objects from vacuum cleaners to bookshelves. A lot of his products -like the Luminator or Toio lamps- are today part of the permanent collection of the most important museums as icons of the italian mid-century design.

Everyday objects’ observation was often the starting point for his designs: “Design demands observation” was one of his mottoes. For example, to design the Arco lamp Achille and Pier Giacomo took inspiration by street lamps. The light source, in fact, is projected at least eight feet away from the marble base as it was coming from a normal ceiling chandelier. For the Toio lamp, instead, the inspiration was a car reflector.

Castiglioni design philosophy can best be perceived if we also consider the cultural environment from which he was influenced and that he helped to form in turn. Along with his unquestionable talent, Castiglioni -like other contemporary designers/architects as Marco Zanuso or Ettore Sottsass- gain the advantage of the italian tradition in fine arts and craftsmanship to create products to restore the country’s quality of life after the World War II; the mix of all these elements made Castiglioni’s works and italian design internationally appreciated contributing to the 1950s economic boom.

While being a successful designer, Castiglioni was also a teacher at the Industrial Design course of the Architectural School of the Polytechnic of Milan where he could educate tens of students to his design philosophy.

Using everyday objects from his enormous collection, Castiglioni demonstrated the power of simple, ingeniousness and seemingly unremarkable common objects. A significant example is the milking stool consisting of a round piece of Wood as a seat with a round incision into which fit the single wooden leg. Both parts were held together by a strip of leather, so hat the stool could be carried over the shoulder. Castiglioni, standing on a table, milked an invisible cow miming the stool’s use proving how objects have a life of their own and are independent of any designer’s name. He also wanted to stimulate his students to explore the design and its potentials themselves starting from objects based on common sense and available resources. “What you need is a constant and consistent way of designing, not a style.” Castiglioni used to say to the students. His way was based on observing and understanding objects imagining need results in a satisfying design solution and that’s why he become one of the masters of the italian mid-century design.

Achille Castiglioni has been one of the most creative designer of the mid century period. To discover everything about mid century, check Mid Century Home now!