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Unlike Sottsass, however, Castiglioni was not a radical in the
sense of setting out to destroy the conventions of design that run
in a linear progression from the Arts and Crafts Movement at the
end of the 19th century to the Bauhaus of the 1920s and Scandinavian
design of the 1950s. Where he was a radical was in his ability to
select ordinary objects and transform them, just as Duchamp did
when he presented a urinal which he called ‘Fountain’
for an exhibition in New York in 1917, and just as Man Ray did when
he added an eye to a metronome in his ‘Indestructible Object’
of 1923. In Castiglioni's case, the transformation began when he
turned a tractor seat into a respectable piece of furniture for
Zanotta in 1957, and a standard car lamp into his Toio light fitting
designed for Flos in the same year.
Born in 1918, Castiglioni was a year younger than Sottsass and
two years older than Magistretti and, like the other two, was trained
as an architect, in his case at the Politecnico di Milano immediately
before and after the Second World War. On graduation, he was one
of the forces behind the establishment of the Milan Triennale, the
Compasso d'Oro (Golden Compass) Design Awards and the Associazioni
per il Disegno, all set up in the 1940s and 50s. He was also a contributor
to the magazine, Stile industria, which charted the rise of Italian
design in the post-war era.
During the incredible period of reconstruction that took place
in Italy after the Second World War (much of it paid for by Marshall
Aid), Castiglioni taught architecture in Milan and Turin, and ran
a design office with his brother, Pier, who died in 1968. The office
concentrated on exhibition and product design and among its most
notable exhibition designs were the Pavilion RAI at the 16th Milan
Fair in 1958, which was notable for its forest of towers topped
by radio and TV masts, and the Montecantini Pavilion at the Milan
Fair of 1960. This was dedicated to new uses for plastics.
The office was also in the forefront of Italian industrial design,
using new materials, experimental forms and advanced technology
for (among other things), light fittings, furniture, domestic equipment
and products for Brionvega (including a celebrated radiogram), ceramics
and glassware.
It was during this period that Castiglioni demonstrated his mastery
of simplification allied to impeccable manufacture. In the Arco
and Taccia light fittings, designed for Flos in 1961 and 1962 respectively,
the former is a marble base supporting an arc of aluminium terminated
by a simple, spun aluminium reflector, while the latter consists
of three basic but very refined components - a metal base, and a
glass bowl and reflector. Both fittings were often seen in the most
up-to-date interiors of the time. The same meticulous care over
the way in which components are put together distinguishes the Sanluca
armchair designed for Gavina in 1960 and the condiment set designed
for Alessi from 1980-84. The latter is particularly notable for
the ingenious counterweight used to open and close its lids.
The work undertaken by Castiglioni remained as varied in its range
and as consistent in its style after his brother's death. He continued
to design exhibitions, including ‘Design since 1945’,
in Philadelphia, and ‘Shakers’ shown in Milan (both
in 1984) and the ‘Lumiere je pense a vous’ shown in the
Pompidou Centre, Paris in 1985. Interior designs included showrooms
for Cassina and Flos, furniture for Zanotta and Macatre (among others),
and accessories (besides the condiment set already mentioned) for
Alessi. These included the dry cutlery set and a spiral ashtray.
Indeed, some designs were actually 30 years old: Castiglioni was
simply waiting for someone to make them! He also managed to design
a few buildings, including a church, a school and an office block,
all in Italy, and was head of the Faculta di Architettura in the
Politecnico di Milano from 1965-77.
Although the range of work equals that of the other two members
of the triumvirate, what distinguished Castiglioni particularly
(and made him different from Sottsass, who has always been obsessed
with death) was his belief that life should be fun. Indeed, he refused
to accept commissions that he didn't think he would enjoy carrying
out. Thus, when people visited his office in Milan, a mirror at
the entrance deceived them into thinking that the office was straight
ahead (which it wasn't), while a product such as Snoopy (designed
for Flos in 1967) had to have a marble base to prevent the dog-like
lamp from falling over. So Castiglioni's legacy includes not only
products that are among the best to come out of Italy, but also
products that can make one smile.
Richard Carr
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