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The Arco floor lamp, designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni in 1962.

Achille Castiglioni

Achille Castiglioni combined architecture, exhibition design and industrial objects, often in close collaboration with his brother Pier Giacomo. Arco and Mezzadro show their shared authorship; after 1968, Achille continued his practice and taught design in Turin and Milan.

Milan and architecture

Achille Castiglioni was born in Milan in 1918 and graduated in architecture from the Politecnico di Milano in 1944. His training led into a practice spanning industrial design, exhibitions and architecture. He was Italian and lived from 1918 to 2002.1,2

A shared studio, then a solo practice

From 1945, Achille worked with his brother Pier Giacomo in the Milan studio; their collaboration continued until Pier Giacomo’s death in 1968. Achille Castiglioni experimented with industrial products with his brothers from 1940 and continued independently at the studio through 2002.1

Arco: a light from above without a ceiling fixture

Designed with Pier Giacomo in 1962, Arco addresses the need to illuminate a table without fixing a light to the ceiling. A steel arch rises from a marble base and projects the light source outward over the table.3

Sources and citations (8)
  1. Biography
  2. Achille Castiglioni
  3. Arco Floor Lamp, 1962
  4. Mezzadro
  5. Castiglióni, Achille
  6. The Foundation
  7. Flos
  8. Mezzadro

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