Italian Leather Irma Chairs by Achille Castiglioni for Zanotta, Set of 4

Brothers Livio (1911-1979), Pier Giacomo (1913-1968), and Achille (1918-2002) Castiglioni were born in Milan and worked side-by-side as industrial designers and architects.

In 1938, shortly after graduating from the Polytechnic University of Milan, Pier Giacomo, along with his brother Livio, founded a small architecture firm in Milan. They worked together with architect Luigi Caccia Dominioni to design interiors, furniture, and other objects, such as the Caccia Cutlery Set (1938) and the Fimi-Phonola 547 Radio (1939). Achille joined his two older brothers in their design practice after graduating in 1944 with a degree in architecture from the Polytechnic University of Milan. In the early years, the Castiglioni studio derived its main income from exhibition design, but they also restored buildings destroyed by the war, such as the Palazzo Della Permanente in 1952. Livio left to start his own practice in 1952; today, he is best known for his Boalum Lamp for Artemide (1970/71)—a light featuring internally lit, flexible plastic tubing—which he co-designed with Gianfranco Frattini (1926-2004).

Working in the midst of the Italian design Renaissance of the 1950s and ’60s, both Achille and Pier Giacomo were dedicated to creating visually appealing, yet technically innovative designs. They played a vital role in the foundation of the Compasso d’Oro prize, for decades recognized as one of the world’s most prestigious industrial design awards. Achille was also head of Facoltà di Architettura at the Politecnico, where he influenced a generation of Italian designers. Their legacy is still felt today, as they are among the most celebrated designers of the 20^th century—especially among diehard design lovers. Their prolific output included many collaborations with major Italian manufacturers, such as Flos for lighting, Zanotta for furniture, and Alessi for home goods. Other prestigious clients include B&B Italia, Bernini, Brionvega, Danese, Gavina, Kartell, Knoll, Moroso, Poggi, and Siemens.

Both Achille and Pier Giacomo were keenly interested in experimenting with new materials and techniques for industrial production. One notable example is “cocoon skin,” a material composed of sprayed polymer plastic fibers that solidified into a flexible membrane; the brothers initially saw a this substance used by the US military, and soon after acquired the patent. The Castiglioni brothers used this resin applied over a steel structure to create the iconic, cocoon-like forms of their Viscontea Lamp (1960), Taraxacum Chandeliers (1960), and Gato Table Lights (1960) for Flos.

Additionally, the brothers were eager to find inspiration in the everyday, and, as such, they often worked with found objects and components. Standout pieces in this vein include the Mezzadro Seat (1954-7) and Sella Seat (1957), both eventually put into production by Zanotta, and the Arco Floor Lamp (1962) and Toio Floor Lamp (1962), both produced by Flos.

Pier Giacomo unfortunately died early in 1968; Achille continued to work on his own until his own death in 2002. Today, many of the brothers’ designs are on display at museums and galleries around the world, including the Vitra Design Museum in Germany, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and the MoMA in New York. In honor of their achievements and contributions, over the course of their careers, they collectively received nine Compasso d´Oro awards. Today, Castiglioni lighting is highlysought-after on the vintage market.  

Design luminary Emilio Ambasz, in 1988, wrote that the history of Italian design “could not be written without referring to [Zanotta’s} contribution.” Aurelio Zanotta founded Zanotta in Nova Milanese in 1954. In the early years, the company manufactured mostly sofas and armchairs that never made it into the history books. In the 1960s, however, Zanotta began working with the most conceptually driven designers of the days—the Castiglioni brothers, Joe Colombo, and Ettore Sottsass, for example—and by the end of the decade, Zanotta has produced some of the world’s most iconic works of postmodern and radical design.

 Among Zanotta’s notable designs from this game-changing era are the plastic-covered Throw-Away Armchair by Willie Landels (1965); the interlocking Karelia Lounge by Liisi Beckmann (1966); the inflatable Blow Chair by Jonathan De Pas, Donato D'Urbino, Paolo Lomazzi, and Carla Scolari (1967); the prefabricated portable living space Guscio Hut by Roberto Menghi (1968); the beanbag-like Sacco Lounge by Paolini, Gatti, and Teodoro (1968); and the poster child for the radical design movement, the Quaderna Console by Superstudio (1971).

In the 1970s, Zanotta began to mine design history for important, boundary-breaking works that were no longer in production. The first project in this vein was the Castiglioni’s Mezzadro Stool, which had been designed in 1957—inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s concept of “ready-mades—but was never made in large quantities. Spurred on by the success of this re-edition, Zanotta followed with more, for example Italian rationalist architect Giuseppe Terragni’s Follia Chair (1934); Italian designer Marco Zanuso’s Maggiolina Lounge Chair (1947); and Swiss architect Max Bill’s Sgabillo Stool (1952). Zanotta would go to re-edition super rare designs by Italian designer Carlo Mollino, as well. 

In the ’80s, Aurelio Zanotta founded Zabro (Zanotta Brothers) with Alessandro Mendini and Studio Alchimia. This experimental workshop aimed to conserve Italian craft heritage while exploring new design languages. This led to the creation of unclassifiable hybrid objects like Mendini’s Zabro Table/Chair (1984), which transforms from a kind of throne into a dining table. Zanotta next launched Zanotta Edizioni in 1989 to answer to a more selective, collector market. Among these limited editions are Bruno Munari’s Singer Chair Object (1945), Mendini’s Colomobio Chest of Drawers (1985/88), and Joe Tilson’s Alchera Chest (1992). 

Today, Zanotta continues to produce many of its designs classics alongside new contemporary designs. The company has over 200 pieces inside the permanent collections of the most prestigious museums, like the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Victoria & Albert in London, the Triennale Design Museum in Milan, and the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein.

* All images courtesy of Zanotta