Vico Magistretti was born in Milan on October 6, 1920. he Comes from a family of architects for many generations. In 1956 he was one of the founding members of ADI, the Association for Industrial Design, and was a member of the jury for the Compasso d'Oro Award. The attention paid to the theme of living will end up monopolizing his activity as an architect, making him develop an extremely expressive language. Magistretti is one of the fathers of the so-called Italian Design, a phenomenon which he himself defines as "miraculous" and which could only be verified thanks to the meeting of two essential components: the architects and the producers. At the end of the 60s he began collaborating with manufacturers, including Artemide, Cassina and Oluce, creating objects that will remain design "classics". Compasso d'Oro awards For Cassina he wins the prize with the Maralunga sofa (1979). With Artemide he designed various lamps, winning the coveted prize for the very famous Eclisse (1967); Among the furnishing objects, he designed the Selene chair (1969), which, with the Panton Chair and Universal by Joe Colombo, competes for the primacy of the first plastic chair in the world. For many years he was also the art director and main designer of Oluce. Among his masterpieces, icons recognized throughout the world, are the lamps: Snow (1974), Sonora (1976), above all Atollo (1977, Compasso d'oro award 1979). Finally, in 1994 he was awarded the Compasso d'Oro award for his career. At the end of the 1980s, the partnership with an exceptional publisher also established itself: Maddalena De Padova, awarded the Compasso d'Oro for her career on the occasion of the 20th edition of the award. The “è De Padova” collection designed by Magistretti includes among the classics: the Marocca chair (1987), the Vidun table (1987), the Silver chair (1989), the Uragano wicker chair (1992), the Incisa chair (1992 ), the more recent Blossom table (2002). For Flou he invents new types of beds, including, after the Nathalie bed (1978), the first fully upholstered bed, in 1993, another innovative bed, Tadao, whose base together with the headboard is an essential reinterpretation of the slatted structure. At the end of the 90s another fundamental professional relationship was born, the one with Campeggi with which he will create undisputed masterpieces of design. These include the Kenia chair (1995), the Ospite bed (1996), the Africa armchair (2000) and many others. His design works are exhibited in the permanent collection of the MoMA in New York, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Die Neue Sammlung in Munich and in numerous other museums in America and Europe.
