Wall clock - Alessi - ABS - Design of 1965 (1996)

A historic project by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, “Firenze” was designed in 1965 for the “La casa abitata” exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi, in Florence. For the event, the Castiglioni brothers designed a dining room with only a few elements: a lamp with different light levels, a piece of furniture made up of large steps, a set table and the same Wall clock. In 1996 the project was put into production by Alessi. By the time this large wall clock became a Castiglioni masterpiece in Alessi’s catague.

The choice of fabricating the clock in black and white is the result of research conducted by Claudia Raimondo (an Alessi consultant for research on colour and finishing) at the archives of the Achille Castiglioni Study Museum.

This Wall Clock is in new and unused condition. Delivered with original packaging, manual and battery.

Quartz movement. Dimensions: ø cm 36 / ø 13¾ and an AA - LR6 type stylus battery.

Achille Castiglioni (1918 - 2002):
Born in Milan in 1918, one of the great masters of Italian design, he was a founding member of ADI in the fifties. The long list of awards he has received include eight Compassi d'Oro. His activity as a designer is an unmistakable blend of simplicity, irony and fun and it shows his close interest in the way objects are used, in the potential offered by technology and in the use of new materials. Castiglioni designed for many famous brands like Cassina, Olivetti, Driade and Flos. He died in 2002.

Pier Giacomo Castiglioni (1913 - 1968):
Born in Milan in 1913. Castiglioni studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano, and graduated in 1937. In that year or in 1938 he started an architectural design practice with his brother Livio and Luigi Caccia Dominioni. Amongst the designs produced by the practice were the first Italian bakelite radio. After the Second World War he and Livio worked with their younger brother Achille. Much of their work was in product and exhibition design, but they also carried out a number of architectural projects, including the reconstruction in 1952–53 of the Palazzo della Permanente.

About Alessi:
Alessi, a renowned Italian design brand founded in 1921 Giovanni Alessi, has become a symbol of cutting-edge design and innovative craftsmanship, especially in Postmodernism and Contemporary design as well as some Bauhaus objects. Over the decades, it has collaborated with iconic designers such as Alessandro Mendini, Aldo Rossi, Ettore Sottsass (a founder of the Memphis group), Michael Graves, Marcel Wanders, Richard Sapper, Zaha Hadid, the Bouroullec brothers, Tom Kovac, Toyo Ito, Jean Nouvel, Ron Arad, and Gio Ponti. These collaborations have cemented Alessi's reputation for creating timeless, functional pieces that double as works of art. The most celebrated design is Philippe Starck's Juicy Salif citrus squeezer, which almost became Alessi’s brand symbol in the minds of design lovers. This makes Alessi a brand with high impact and rich marriage with fundamental design DNA. More recently, a collaboration with Virgil Abloh's creative agency infused a fresh, modern sensibility into Alessi’s offerings.