Franco Albini looking at at typewriter

Franco Albini

Italian furniture designer and architect


“It is more through our work than through ourselves that we disseminate ideas.”

Franco Albini

Franco Albini (born October 17, 1905, Robbiate, Italy–died November 1, 1977, Milan, Italy) was an Italian furniture designer and architect and one of the most important members of the Italian Neo-Rationalist movement. Born in Robbiate, a commune 30 kilometers northeast of Milan, he studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano, graduating in 1929. That same year, he began his professional career at the studio of Gio Ponti and Emilio Lancia, where he would eventually work for three years. It was during his time at the Ponti and Lancia studio when Albini had the opportunity to meet many of the notable architects of the time, including Le Corbusier in Paris and Mies van der Rohe, who worked with Gio Ponti at the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona. But it was probably his meetings with the critic, essayist, and designer Edoardo Persico, the Napolitan editor of Casabella magazine, that had the greatest influence on him and persuaded him to turn toward Rationalist architecture.

In 1931, Franco Albini opened a studio on Via Bartolomeo Panizza in Milan with architects Renato Camus and Giancarlo Palanti. This was a time of great architectural activity and innovation in Milan, as in 1933 the Palazzo dell’Arte of the V Triennale di Milano (Milan Triennial) opened to become a catalyst of Rationalist thought and a place to experiment with new materials, solutions, and methods. read more.

Franco Albini Participated in Important exhibitions During His Lifetime

Given his distinct talent, Franco Albini was asked to participate in several of the Triennales in Milan throughout his life. At this time in Italy, the main role of the exhibitions was not to promote products or commerce, but to inform and communicate new ideas. For this reason, the events not only carried significant prestige, but also allowed artists and architects to exchange important ideas and concepts at a time when the world was going through deep introspection and fast-paced exploration. In 1933, at the young age of 26, Albini participated in his first Triennale, the V Triennale di Milano, with fellow contemporary architect Giancarlo Palanti under Rationalist architect and Casabella magazine Director Giuseppe Pagano Pogatschnig. Together, they worked on the design of the Steel Frame House in Parco Sempione. This was Albini’s first attempt to design and build mass-produced, inexpensive, and high-quality houses and furniture using the latest materials, technology, and industrial production.

In 1934, Franco Albini participated in the influential Aerodynamics exhibition for the 15th Milan Fair. Beyond being a place to display the fast-paced advancements in aeronautical technology, the exhibition gave Albini a venue to explore important concepts about the myths of science and technology, the role of the arts, the concept of a humanistic civilization, and the idea of not necessarily the future but the infinite.

For the VI Triennale di Milano in 1936, together with a group of young designers gathered by Pagano, Franco Albini presented spaces and furniture of three types of accommodations, including the iconic and idiosyncratic Room for a Man. In Room for a Man, Albini displayed his ironic approach to the fascist myth of an athletic man and proposed a low-cost housing and furnishing alternative. The result is an efficient, disciplined design, even though he chose to use marble, a traditional and expensive material, on the walls and floor.

In 1940, for the VII Triennale di Milano, Franco Albini participated in the exhibition Living Room of a Villa. In this project, Albini decided to separate himself from the then-prevalent Rationalist approach of Giuseppe Pagano and its imminent use of modern architectural technology and adherence to functionality. In Living Room of a Villa, he used natural elements like trees, integrated figurative and abstract art as part of the architectural project, and diffused the boundaries between exterior and interior spaces.

For the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Triennale di Milano in 1954, Albini designed, along with Italian architect and designer Franca Helg, the Hall of Honor at the Palazzo dell’Arte.

Franco Albini’s Prominent Architectural Projects

During the 1930s, the studio designed four important public housing projects: one in the Baracca district in San Siro (1932) and three in the neighborhoods of Fabio Filzi (1936–1938), Ettore Ponti (1939), and Gabriele D’Annunzio (1939).

Franco Albini desk and chair designed fo Villa Neuffer
Franco Albini furniture desk & chair designed for Villa Neuffer circa 1940

In 1935, Franco Albini designed his first villa without the collaboration of other architects, the Villa Pestarini, a project that won him praise from many of the architects in Milan, and in 1940 he designed the building and furnishings of Villa Neuffer in the town of Ispra in Lago Maggiore. Villa Pestarini and Villa Neuffer fall within a series of projects that Albini developed through his interactions with wealthy Milanese clientele, including Falck, Caprotti, Vanzetti, and Ferrarin, for whom he designed and completed numerous furnishings and interiors during his first years of professional activity.

In Genova, Albini contributed important designs for the Palazzo Bianco (1949–51), Palazzo Rosso (1952–62), and Tesoro di San Lorenzo (1952–56) museums. Albini’s architectural contributions to the museums in Genova were done while Caterina Mercenaro was the director of l’Ufficio di Belle Arti del comune di Genova (director of the Office of Fine Art of Genova). A relationship that would be transformative for the quality of Albini’s architectural interventions, as well as for his innovative museum displays with a clear focus on showcasing the pieces on modern pedestals, and without physical barriers, to facilitate proximity with the viewer.  In 1961, he designed the Reascent building in Rome, and in 1962 and 1963, he and Franca Helg worked on designing many of Milan’s Line #1 subway stations.

Milano metro station Villa San Giovanni by Franco Albini
Milano metro station Villa San Giovanni by Franco Albini. Photo by Arbalete under creative commons

Franco Albini Important Product and Furniture Designs

Franco Albini’s industrial design, and in particular Franco Albini furniture design, was a major part of his professional focus. In 1928, a year before graduating, he designed the now-iconic Albini Desk, for which he combined steel, glass, and wood with a striking minimalistic balance. The Albini Desk was later produced by Knoll in 1949. During the 1940s and 1950s, he created many successful furniture designs, some with a few variant designs at different times.

Franco Albini & Franca Helg LB10 bookcase by Poggi in 1958

A particular influence on Albini’s success was his long and fruitful collaboration with the furniture maker Poggi, for which he made several important designs, such as the highly stylized Luisa chair (1949–1950), for which he was awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1955; the custom-made Stadera desk for the house of Caterina Marcenaro with its asymmetric twin level desk top accompanied by a movable pedestal of five drawers (1951); the very successful and iconic LB7 bookcase system (1957); the Cicognino side table (model no. TN6, 1953); the Rocking Chaise, originally designed for his house in 1938 but later relaunched with Poggi under the name PS16 in 1956; the Stadera desk (1958); the LB10 library (1958); and the PL19, or Three Pieces, armchair (1959).

Albini’s other important furniture and product designs include the custom-built Mitragliera (Italian for machine gun) lamp (1938–1940); the Veliero bookcase, originally designed by Albini for his apartment in 1939 and made with two main V-shaped wood uprights and held together by a tensile structure supporting the shelves, but redesigned and reintroduced by Cassina in 2011; the popular Margherita and Gala chairs (1951), both made over a rattan and reed structure for Bonacina, the rattan furniture company founded in Lurago d’Erba in Brianza; the Fiorenza armchair for Arflex (1940), which he originally designed for his apartment and for the “Living Room in a Villa” exhibition for the VII Triennale and which he subsequently modified in 1952, 1956, and 1967; and the Orion 23-inch TV for Brionvega (1962).

Original design of Franco Albini's Veliero bookcase designed in 1939
Franco Albini’s Veliero bookcase designed for his MIlano apartment (1939). Cassina re-introduced a modified version in 2011

From 1952 until his death in 1977, Franco Albini collaborated with designer and architect Franca Helg in creating important home designs, such as the model TL 22 desk and the model PL19 Tre Pezzi lounge chairs (1957) for Poggi; the Ochetta model 3052 sconces (1962) and the model 2050 ceiling light (1963), both for Arteluce; and a series of TV and radio sets for Brionvega, one of which was displayed at the Triennale di Milano. Franca Helg also collaborated on designing variations to the already existing library systems designed by Franco Albini, such as the LB10 bookcase system.

Albini Received Notable Awards During His Lifetime

Franco Albini received three Compasso d’Oro awards: the first one in 1955 for the Luisa chair; the second one in 1958, was the National Price award;  one in 1958, and the third one for his work, alongside Franca Helg and Bob Noorda (Noodra for his contributions to the signage of the project), in designing the Line #1 subway stations in Milan. In 1957, he also received the architectural award il premio Olivetti per l’Architettura; and in 1971, the Royal Designer Industry award by the Royal Society of London.

 

For more information on Franco Albini, please visit:
Fondazione Franco Albini

Last updated: February 27, 2020

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Important institutional exhibitions since Franco Albini’s death:


1979

  • “Transformations in Modern Architecture,” Museum of Modern Art, New York.

2005

  • “Franco Albini, Museums and Set Designs;” Fondazione Franco Albini; Milan, Rome, Venice, Mantua, Matera, Parma, Reggio Calabria, Palermo, Aversa, Columbus (Ohio)  Gallery il Bosco, Turin. Gallery Il Borgo, Turin.

2007

  • “Zero Gravity,” Curated by Renzo Piano, Palazzo della Triennale in Milan.

2016

  • “The Substance of Form.” Italian Cultural Institute, Paris.

2017

  • “Glimpses of the World. Franco Albini the Photographer,” Fondazione Franco Albini, Milan.

2018

  • “Lines and Space: Interiors of Franco Albini,” Fondazione Franco Albini, at Fuori Salone in Milan.

2019

  • “The Value of Good Design,” Museum of Modern Architecture, New York.
  • “A show about showing – Art on Display at the Gulbenkian,” Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon.

Books and Important Magazine Articles About Franco:


Marco Albini & Giampiero Bosoni

Franco Albini – La sostanza della forma

Fondazione Franco Albini

Milano (2016)

 

Federico Bucci

Il design e gli interni di Franco Albini, Ediz. Ilustrata

Mondadordi Electa

Milano (2016)

 

Piero Boccardo

Franco Albini L’appartamento di un amatore d’arte (1953-1955)

Silvana Editoriale

Milano (2015)

 

Kay Bea Jones

Suspending Modernity: The Architecture of Franco Albini (Ashgate Studies in Architecture)

Routledge Publishing Ltd

Farnham, UK (2014)

 

Giampiero Bosoni

Franco Albini

24 Ore Cultura s.r.l.

Milano (2011)

 

Federico Bucci el al.

Zero Gravity Franco Albini – Construire la Modernita

Electa

Milano (2006)

 

Luigi Spinelli

Places of Franco Albini: Itineraries of Architecture

Electa

Milano (2006)

 

Federico Bucci

I musei e gli allestimenti di Franco Albini

Electa

Milano (2005)

 

Vitorio Prinna

Franco Albini, Albergo rifugio Pirovano a Cervinia

Alinea Editrice

Firenze (2005)

 

Antonio Piva

Franco Albini

Art Books Intl Ltd

Portchester, Fareham, UK (1998)

 

Fabrizio Rossi Prodi

Franco Albini

Officina Edizioni

Roma (1996)

 

Michele Ugolini

Franco Albini Uffici ina a Parma

Alinea Editrice

Firenze (1991)

 

Franca Helg (Coordinator)

Franco Albini, 1930-1979

Rizzoli

New York (1981)