Graduated at the Politecnico of Milan in 1944, after having graduated, Achille Castiglioni began working together with his two elder brothers Livio and Pier Giacomo in Milan. Since the beginnings, his interests have been focused on city planning, architecture, exhibitions and product design, and in 1956 he was among the founders of the ADI, the Italian Association of Industrial Design. Very famous are the design objects he created, above all lamps, with which he won seven times the Compasso d’Oro and many other rewards. His most famous cooperation is the one with the brand Flos, for which he designed many lamps, such as the famous Arco. However, Achille Castiglioni, together with his brother Pier Giacomo, worked also for brands, such as Kartell, Zanotta, Flos, Bernini, Siemens, Knoll, Poggi, Lancia, Ideal Standard, Arflex, Alessi. His works are exhibited in many and very famous international museums, such as the MoMA of New York, where he is the main character of the biggest exhibition dedicated to an Italian artist; but also at the Victoria and Albert Museum of London, at the Kunstgewerbe Museum of Zurich, at the Staatliches Museum für Angewandte Kunst of Munich, at the Design Museum of Prato, at the Uneleckoprumyslove Museo of Prague, at the Israel Museum of Jerusalem, at the Denver Art Museum, at the Vitra Design Museum of Weil am Rhein, at the Angewandte Kunst Museum of Hamburg and of Cologne.
