Franco Albini (17 October 1905 – 1 November 1977) was an Italian Neo-Rationalist architect, designer and university instructor in design.

Education and career

A native of

Robbiate Robbiate (Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about south of Lecco. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 5,333 and an area of ...

, near

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Albini obtained his degree in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

Politecnico di Milano The Polytechnic University of Milan (, abbreviated as PoliMi) is a university in Milan, Italy. It is the largest technical university in the country, with about 40,000 enrolled students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, and higher ...

University in 1929 and began his professional career working for

Gio Ponti Giovanni "Gio" Ponti (; 18 November 1891 – 16 September 1979) was an Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer, artist, teacher, writer and publisher. During his career, which spanned six decades, Ponti built more than a hu ...

. He started displaying his works at the Milan Triennale, and in 1930 he opened his own practice.

Design of objects

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. This also meant an elegant design based on a minimalist aesthetic. One of his first successful works in 1939 was a radio, encased in glass, so to show its internal components. In 1928 Albini designed the now-iconic "Albini Desk", combining steel, glass and wood with a striking minimalistic balance, and introduced by

Knoll In geography, knoll is another term for a knowe or hillock, a small, low, round natural hill or mound. Knoll may also refer to: Places * Knoll Camp, site of an Iron Age hill fort Hampshire, England, United Kingdom * Knoll Lake, Leonard Canyon, ...

in 1949. In 1950 he designed the famous and fashionable "Margherita" and "Gala" chairs, made of woven cane. In 1952 he created the "Fiorenza" armchair for

Arflex Arflex is an Italian company that makes and sells contemporary furniture. History In 1947, after the war, a group of researchers and entrepreneurs began to work on two new upholstering materials, foam rubber and elastic tape made by Pirelli, ...

; in 1955 the "Luisa" chair, for which he was awarded the

Compasso d'Oro The Compasso d'Oro (; ) is an industrial design award originated in Italy in 1954. Initially sponsored by the La Rinascente, a Milanese department store, the award has been organised and managed by the Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (ADI ...

; in 1956 the "Rocking chaise" for Poggi.

Industrial and architectural designs

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 with Franca Helg and Bob Noorda the

Milan Metro Line 1 Line 1 (''Linea Uno'' in Italian) is the first underground rapid transit line built in Milan, Italy. It is part of the Milan Metro and it is operated by ATM. Works on the line began in 1957, and the first part was opened on 1 November 1964, run ...

subway stations, and from 1969 also Milan Metro Line 2 subway stations. In 1964 the television set he created for

Brionvega Brionvega is an Italian electronics company that is known for manufacturing futuristic television sets and audio equipment, its contributions to post-second world war technological and social advancement in Italian economic miracle, Italian in ...

was displayed at the Milan Triennial XIII. In the same year, he created various lamps for Arteluce. Albini worked for companies including Brionvega, Cassina, Arflex, Arteluce and Poggi. He was also an architect and interior designer. Among 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 ''Casabella'' is a monthly Italian architectural and product design magazine with a focus on modern, radical design and architecture. It includes interviews with the world's most prominent architects. History and profile Casabella was founded in ...

''. In the 1950s and 1960s he taught interior design at the Venice School of Architecture (

Università Iuav di Venezia Iuav University of Venice () is a university in Venice, Italy. It was founded in 1926 as the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia as one of the first architecture schools in Italy. The university offers several undergraduate, graduat ...

). From 1963 to 1977 he taught design at Milan Polytechnic (Politecnico di Milano).

Awards and recognition

In 1971 he was appointed an Honorary Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) by the Royal Society for Arts (RSA) in London. Albini obtained three

awards, the most prestigious Italian design prize. Margherita Armchair project design by Franco Albini

Margherita Chair project design by Franco Albini

Publications

* *Sherer, Daniel. "Rationalism and Paradox in Franco Albini's and Franca Helg's Architecture and Design, 1934–1977," in D. Sherer, Aldo Colonetti, eds. Franco Albini and Franca Helg Design (Milan, 2009), 9–38. *Leet, Stephen. ''Franco Albini, Architecture and Design, 1934–1977'' (Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 1990). *Jones, Kay Bea. ''Suspending Modernity: The Architecture of Franco Albini'', Surrey: Ashgate, 2014

References

External links

World Wide Arts Resources

Franco Albini Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albini, Franco 1905 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Italian architects Architects from Milan Italian industrial designers Casabella editors Italian urban planners Modernist architects from Italy Olivetti people People from the Province of Lecco Polytechnic University of Milan alumni Italian furniture designers Compasso d'Oro Award recipients Royal Designers for Industry