Matteo Thun

Matteo Thun was born in 1952 in Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy. Matteo Thun is an architect and designer born into the von Thun and Hohenstein family of entrepreneurs. He first studied at the Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts under the direction of Oskar Kokoschka. He pursued his studies in Florence where he obtained his degree in architecture under Adolfo Natalini.

Matteo Thun moved to Milan in 1975 and, together with Ettore Sottsass, founded the Memphis Group in 1981. It exerted a strong influence on design during the eighties. The Academy of applied Arts in Vienna appointed him to the position of Professor for product design and ceramics. Two years later and shortly after he left the Memphis Group, in 1984, Matteo Thun founded his own studio in Milan. He was active as Creative Director for Swatch between 1990 and 1993. During his career Matteo Thun has earned many awards and three times the ADICompasso d'Oro for outstanding design. Matteo Thun is also a member of the Royal Association of British Architects. His name appeared for the first time at the Interior Hall of Fame in New York in 2004.

According to Matteo Thun, product design and architecture are organically linked. A specific architecture creates the necessity to decorate the interior with objects, which in turn require a specific design. It is the same for his "Ecotektur" concept which connects architecture and ecology. Matteo Thun follows the sustainability principle for which numerical aspects of energy efficiency and the function of buildings and objects play a major role. He aims to provide a large amount of functionality, while using as little material as possible.

Matteo Thun: Popular Lights & Lamps Collections

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