Franco Albini (17 October 1905-1 November 1905) was an Italian Neo - Rationalist architect and designer.A native of Robbiate,near,Albini obtained his degree in architecture at Politecnico di Milano University in 1929 and began his professional career working for Gio Ponti. He started displaying his works at,Triennale.In 1930 He the 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 informs the raw,inexpensive materials.He exploited the very skilled Italian craftsmanship.This also meant an elegant design -based on a minimalist aesthetic.One of the first,successful works in 1939 is 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 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;In 1955 the "Luisa" chair;In 1956 the "Rocking chaise" for Poggi.In the 1960 s he worked on industrial design as well as the important architectural projects.In 1961 he designed the Rome Rinascente building.Three years later he designed a team of experts In the things,subway crisis.In 1964 the television set he created for Brionvega was displayed at the,Triennial.In the same year,he created various lamps for Arteluce.Franco Albini,among other companies,worked for:Brionvega,Cassina,Arflex,Arteluce and Poggi.Albini was also an architect and interior designer. Among the others,and in 1945 he created the 'Zanini Fur Shop' located in,As a writer and editor, from 1945 to 1946 he worked for the Italian magazine Casabella.Albini obtained three Compasso d 'Oro allow the most prestigious Italian design prize.
In 1947 a group of technicians and among them Aldo Bai, Pio Reggiani, Aldo Barassi, coming from Pirelli and a young architect named Marco Zanuso began to experiment the use of foam rubber and elastic tapes for the furniture brand. Inspirer of this operation is Marco Zanuso, for sure one of the very first architects involved with the systems of products industrialization, from application of new materials to new technologies.
