- Franco Albini
Franco Albini (october 17, 1905 - november 1, 1977) was an Italian
Neo-Rationalist architect and designer.A native of
Robbiate , nearMilan , Albini obtained his degree inarchitecture atPolitecnico di Milano University in 1929 and began his professional career working forGio Ponti . He started displaying his works at [http://www.triennale.it Milan Triennale] . In 1930 he opened his own practice.Through his creations, the modern furniture design merged the Italian traditional artisanship with the new forms of modernism. In his creations, he used raw, inexpensive materials. He exploited the very skilled Italian craftsmanship. This also meant an elegant design based on minimalist aesthetics, mixed with extraneous ornamentations.
One of the first, successful works in 1939 concerned a radio, which was made of glass, so to show its internal components.
In 1950 Magistretti designed the famous and fashionable "Margherita" and "Gala" chairs, made of woven cane. In 1952 he created the "Fiorenza" armchair for
Arflex ; in 1955 the "Luisa" chair; in 1956 the "Rocking chaise" forPoggi .In the 1960s he worked on industrial design as well as important architectural projects. In 1961 he designed the Rome
Rinascente building. Three years later he designed in a team of experts many Milan subway stations. In 1964 the television set he created forBrionvega was displayed at theMilan Triennial . In the same year, he created various lamps forArteluce .Franco Albini, among other companies, worked for:
Brionvega , Cassina,Arflex ,Arteluce andPoggi .Albini was also an architect & interior designer. Among the others, in 1945 he created the 'Zanini Fur Shop' located in Milan. As writer and editor, from 1945 to 1946 he worked for the Italian magazine "
Casabella ".Albini obtained three
Compasso d'Oro awards, the most prestigious Italian design prize.References
*cite book|first=Antonio |last=Piva |coauthors=Vittorio Prina|title=Franco Albini 1905-1977|publisher=Electa|location=Milan|year=1998
External links
* [http://www.designdictionary.co.uk/en/albini.htm Franco Albini - Design Dictionary] Illustrated article about Franco Albini
* [http://wwar.com/masters/a/albini-franco.html World Wide Arts Resources]
* [http://www.architonic.com/mus/8100004/1 Architonic]
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