In the second half of the 1990s, with expert advice provided by the wine specialist Veronelli, Achille revised certain functional details of this new project, originally designed together with his brother Pier Giacomo in 1965 on the occasion of the exhibition La Casa Abitata in Florence. References to archetypal forms are particularly apparent in the White wine glass and the Red wine glass that synthesise two classic shapes from the vast and multi-faceted history of the drinking glass: one draws on the archetypal Bordeaux wine glass (a vessel with a tapering rim well suited to most white wines, but also many reds) and he other on the archetypal Burgundian glass for Burgundy wines (a tasting glass ideal for fine wines). The Carafe with handle, the Decanter and the Tasting, Cognac, Whisky and Brandy glasses were designed by Achille alone, albeitwith the consultancy of Veronelli, between 1999 and 2001.
Castiglioni Achille
Born in Milan in 1918, he started work as an architect and designer with his brothers Livio and Pier Giacomo in 1938. 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 its shows his close interest in the way objects are used, in the potential offered by technology and in the use of new materials. He dies in 2002.
Castiglioni Pier Giacomo
Born in Milan in 1913. He graduated in architecture from the Polytechnic of Milan where he later would teach architectural composition. He started working with his brothers Achille and Livio immediately after the war focussing their attention mainly on city planning, architecture and particularly on design. Together with Achille, he received various acknowledgements such as the permanent exhibition of six of their works at the Museum of Modern Art of New York and won five editions of the Compasso d'Oro award.