Achille Castiglioni was a celebrated and prolific Italian designer. Dedicated to experimenting with industrial products, Castiglioni became a driving force in Italian industrial design, creating and collaborating on over 100 items, including stools, lamps, and audio-visual equipment, and receiving nine Compasso d'Oro awards. Born in Milan, Italy on February 16, 1918, he initially studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano. After a brief military tour during the Second World War, he graduated and promptly joined his brothers in developing an architectural design practice. Castiglioni spent his later life teaching architecture and design in various academic institutions, culminating in a full professorship at his alma mater, the Politecnico di Milano. He died on December 2, 2002 in Milan, Italy, and his work can be found in collections all over the world, including The Museum of Modern Art in New York.