Born in Meda, Italy in 1950, Antonio Citterio is one of the absolute heavyweights of the design world. Yet after studying architecture at the Polytechnic University in Milan and opening his first studio with Paolo Nava in 1972, he never let himself be guided by common ideals of beauty.
“I never took my cue from what was popular at the time. When I started, Memphis and postmodern design were the hot trends. My designs were in the modernist tradition, something that was considered old-fashioned in the late ’70s. Fortunately, I found clients like Vitra, B&B Italia and Flexform who appreciated my work,” the designer explains looking back.
In 1999, the joint studio with Patricia Viel “Antonio Citterio and Partners” was founded. The office is considered the birthplace of numerous milestones in contemporary design and architecture history. Among them: the Milan showroom of B&B Italia from the 1980s, as well as the company’s New York flagship store of 2016, the numerous Bulgari hotels from London to Moscow, and even the access system of the Milan Expo in 2015.
Citterio’s product designs always center on his use of new materials, technologies or applications. An outstanding example of this is his “Mobil” system made of colored plastic, designed for Kartell in the 1980s. “Technology is design and vice versa,” says the old master, who also focuses on the evolution and typology of products in his work.
Thus, the sofa designs “Sity” (1986) and “Charles” (1997) for B&B Italia live not only from an appealing look, but also from a new usability. Today, a small upholstered island in front of the sofa may be normality, but at the time of its introduction by the two-time “Compasso d’Oro” winner, it was an innovation.
