Livio Castiglioni was born in Milan, Italy. He was considered as a renowned designer and architect, famous for his innovative and functional designs.
Castiglioni completed his architecture studies at the polytechnical university of Milan and graduated in 1936. After graduating, he started his professional career as an architect and a designer. With the architect Luigi Caccia Dominioni, he opened a workshop and was later joined by his brothers Pier Giacomo and Achille, also famous designers. They concentrated themselves above all on the fields of city planning, architecture and industrial design - the latter was in its early stages at that time in Italy. The collaboration of the three brothers led to some remarkable projects.
In 1956, the three brothers created the Italian Union for Industrial Design ADI (Associazione per il Design Industriale) that has been awarding the famous Prize Compasso d'Oro since 1964. From 1959 to 1960, Livio Castigliano was president of the ADI.
From 1972 to 1979, together with his son Piero he was co-owner of the company in the Via Presolana and designed lighting projects for several public and private art galleries and for hotels, offices, shops, private homes and temporary exhibitions in Italy and abroad. Together with Piero, he designed the famous Scintilla system for FontanaArte, still one of the company's bestsellers and installed in numerous shops and exhibition rooms. Livio Castiglioni also conceived designs for Artemide.
His works were characterized by their simplicity, functionality and aesthetics. Livio Castiglioni had a preference for clear lines and minimalistic design. He believed that good design should not only be beautiful, but also be of practical use.
Livio Castiglioni won many design prizes and distinctions during his career. Among others, he was awarded the Compasso d'Oro, one of the most coveted design prizes worldwide. He was honoured for his outstanding performances and his contribution to developing Italian design.
Livio Castiglioni died on 10th of December 1979 in Milan. His heritage is still alive because his works are still inspiring for many designers. His design approach, uniting function and aesthetics, has left a lasting impact on the design world.