A smoke cloud. Thin and shrewd eyes. Quick pace. Achille Castiglioni was quite tired when he accepted to be interviewed and to open once again the magic world of his studio in piazza Castello in Milan.
In spite of his being tired, he led the interview with irony, sarcasm, curiosity and, above all, passion.
“I still feel like laughing”, he greeted us while lighting another cigarette.
 
How have you become interested in Architecture?
My father was a sculptor and my elder brothers, Livio and Pier Giacomo, studied Architecture at University, which created a favourable environment for me.
 
Tell us about your father Giannino. Was he an artist?
He was a sculptor. His sculptures were objective, always related to the human figure, they were not surrealist or unreal. He always had an analytical attitude towards human beings.
 
What about his most important works?
The most important one is the Saint Francesco’s fountain in Piazza Sant’Angelo in Milan, with the saint as tall as a real person leaning on the edge of the fountain and not upon a pedestal, as in traditional sculptures.
My father always paid attention to the personality of his characters, without exalting them.
Another relevant work created by my father is the door of the Duomo Cathedral in Milan, the one which represents the life of Saint Ambrogio. It is like a cartoon string, such as those on the Corriere dei Piccoli magazine: first, second, third scene... the life of Saint Ambrogio is presented in a very realistic way.
 
Did the artistic work of your father influence you and your brothers?
As a reaction to his realistic sculpture, we were oriented towards a functional and rationalist architecture.
We belonged to another generation, I remember my father’s comments when my brothers and I began to work together, after the War.
My father used to observe us while we were designing something; we would talk and talk before drawing and he used to say:  “Things had their value in the past, now these rationalists and these functionalists pull off things, they just pull off...”. At the end nothing remained in his opinion, while we thought we had constructed great arguments.
  
Which architecture trends did you appreciate the most?
We have always appreciated modern architecture: from Le Corbusier to Terragni, to Lingeri...
 
Would you tell us the story of this water-colour, painted by you and your two brothers, where you are all together wearing shorts and with tennis-rackets in your hands?
It was painted in 1936 when Livio, Pier Giacomo and I used to play tennis. We made it on occasion of a sport event of the time and it represents the most interesting document of that year, I suppose.
 
What about your education?
I should consider myself a “War graduate” because I continued to take examinations at the Faculty of Architecture in order to obtain leaves to go back home during the military service and during the war.
Also architect Portaluppi, the Faculty dean, used to say: “Try to finish your studies quickly”. And when I told him that I wanted to work on a project, he insisted: “Forget the project, just make an "ex tempore" of your idea, so that you can take your degree despite the gloomy events approaching us”.
Milan was bombed, and I had to finish my studies in Architecture very quickly.
I didn’t obtain my degree by merit, but because of the war.

So you were born in 1918, and you were a soldier during the War?
I was in Sicily when the Americans arrived: we left Sicily soon after the 8th September 1943, I was there when the Americans disembarked. I should have been happy because they were coming to set us free, but I wasn’t happy to be liberated by Americans. I understood that it was inevitable, but I wasn’t happy. I became one of those who were shooting Americans; it appeared a political defeat for those who had lived before, like I had, under the ancient Fascist regime.

Even if you and your brothers had similar interests, you were quite different. Which were the aspects that distinguished yourselves?
The eldest, Livio, was very interested in radio experiments: he was a researcher in the area of broadcasting and he was also a radio amateur. Pier Giacomo instead was fond of realistic design and I was a very intuitive bungler. I was stimulated by everything related to playing: it always aroused my interest in the field of amusement and communication.
 
And which is your main feature?
I always criticise people’s behaviour.
Another feature of my personality is that I have always played very much and I still do. I love skating, roller-skating and skiing, just because it’s fun.
 
Does your love for playing also mean that you like toys?
Yes, I like to analyse how toys are constructed and the reason why they are designed in a certain manner.
I don’t have a real toys collection, but I still have the toys I used to play with in my childhood; my mother gave them to me when I got married and left my childhood home. She knew that I was fond of those toys in a strong and particular way.

Are you fond of the objects you have designed as much as you are of your toys?
Yes, they are always with me and I feel them as close as they were children.
 
Talking about the products you have designed, is there any of them you love the most?
Honestly I love everything I designed, good or bad.
 
Who do you think of while designing an object?
I surely feel the mutual empathy between the designer and the end-user. This relationship is very important and represents the guideline of my way of doing things in the field of design and architecture.

What do you need to design an object?
A designed object is the result of the common effort of a group of people with different and specific technical, industrial, commercial and aesthetic skills. The work of the designer is the synthesis that expresses such common effort. The peculiarity of design lies in the continuous relationship among a number of players, from the entrepreneur to the worker in the factory. 
 
How would you define your work?
Maybe because of my father being a sculptor, an artist, an individual who created things, I define my work in a different manner. I don’t regard designed products as the creation of an artist, rather as the result of a team work. We have always linked our artistic activity to a team working together in order to create products, which are not the expression of the designer’s creativity, rather invite to be used. 
I look at my work from a practical perspective: I design products that people need, because I think that the pleasure of buying something comes not only from beauty. 
  
Are you ever inspired by another object?
I have a large collection of lost and found objects, a variety of things, common objects even mass-production ones. I chose them because of their intelligent functional components.

Could you please give us an example?
One of the first objects I used: a feeding bottle which dates back to the First World War 1915-1918. The main creative aspect of this object was the design of a flat part of its surface to prevent dropping it.
The world is full of these things to be observed and paid attention to.

Why do you keep these objects?
Because they always suggest to me something new: the technology used in their production, hints on the behaviour of the end-user, the way they are sold.
These products have an influence on my willingness to work, play and design. Together with other people, never by myself.