Castiglioni's inventions for his family

Studio Museum Achille Castiglioni, Milan - Tuesday, June 7th

Designing with people in mind

GIBIGIANA 1980 (1980 Flos production)

Castiglioni invented gibigiana for his wife. A band of non-glaring light from the case is reflected on a mirror at the top which can be adjusted to light only on a concentrated place. This way, Castiglioni could read late night newspapers or books without disturbing his wife asleep beside him. Ironically, Castiglioni named it “gibigiana” meaning “vexatious” or “naughty” which is a game he used to play as a child, reflecting the sun on a small mirror.

SELLA 1957 by Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni

Castiglioni designed this phone stool for his daughter. As the homes in the Fifties had wall-phones, she was forced to stand up throughout the phone conversation. Instead of putting a comfortable chair, however, Castiglioni invented this quite uncomfortable and difficult chair to sit on for an extended time so whoever on the phone would keep the conversations not too long.

SLEEK 1962 (1962 Kraft and Alessi production)

Castiglioni designed this spoon for the greedy ones, including himself. With this spoon, he could clean up a jar of jam to the final drop.

JOY

Castiglioni designed this shelving unit that can be used in many different purposes. For his children, it was a set of desk and chair, steps, or benches that allowed a taller and a shorter or an adult and child to sit down and have a conversation at an equal eye level.

Hyunji Son, Laura Palbom