Livio Castiglioni
Designer lights by Livio Castiglioni at lachair.com
Livio Castiglioni, the eldest of three brothers, studied architecture
at Milan Polytechnic until 1936. In 1938 Livio Castiglioni and his
brother Pier Giacomo opened a practice on the Piazza Castello in Milan.
Since architects were receiving very few commissions at that time, the
Castiglioni brothers concentrated primarily on designing objects for
daily use, furniture, and appliances. In 1939 they designed "Phonola",
the first radio encased in Bakelite instead of wood. After finishing
his studies, the youngest of the three, Achille Castiglioni, joined his
brothers in the practice in 1944. Livio Castiglioni went his own way
from 1952. Between 1940 and 1960 Livio Castiglioni was a design
consultant for Phonola and, from 1960 until 1964, for Brionvega. All
three brothers were very active in the Italian design scene. In 1956
they were co-founders of the Associazione per il Disegno Industriale
(ADI), the Italian Industrial Design Association which awards the
coveted and important Compasso d'Oro. In 1959/60 Livio Castiglioni was
president of the ADI. The designer object for which Livio Castiglioni
is best known is "Boalum", a lamp he designed with Gianfranco Frattini
for Artemide in 1971. This serpent-like lamp consists of a white,
flexible plastic tube, two meters long, in which several lights are
inserted in a row. Up to four lights can be linked together at the end
pieces to make a light fitting up to eight meters long, which can be
intertwined as desired.
