Achille Castiglioni was born in Milan in 1918.He and brothers Livio (1911-1979) and Pier Giacomo (1913-1968) showed an early interest in industrial production. Achille went on to study architecture and became interested in the idea of developing a complete design process after graduating in 1944. Achille later joined the design practice founded by his brothers. Livio Castiglioni left the practice in 1952 and the remaining two brothers worked as a team until Pier Giacomo died in 1968. Designs by the creative duo were instrumental in defining the playful intelligence for which Italian design was known in the latter half of the 20th century. The Castiglioni Brothers were also renowned for their lighting design, most famously for the Arco lamp which is still in production 60 years later. In 1956, Achille was among the founders of the ADI (Association for Industrial Design). Later, in 1969, he was authorised by the Ministry of Education to teach Artistic Design for Industry. He taught at Turin´s Faculty of Architecture until 1980 and then took a fulltime position as Professor of Industrial Design at the Politecnico di Milano until 1993. New York’s Museum of Modern Art owns 14 of his pieces. Other works can be found in important museums around the world. Achille Castiglioni received 9 Compasso d’Oro awards. Achille Castiglioni died in Milan in 2002.