Biography
Luigi Caccia Dominioni was an italian architect, interior designer and urbanist.
He was born in Milan on 7th december 1913 and he is still alive. It belongs to the noble Milanese family (originally from Novara) of Caccia Dominioni. He completed the entire course of study, up to High School, at the Institute Leone XIII in Milan, under the teaching of the Jesuits. In 1931 he joined the faculty of Architecture at the Politecnico University of Milan.
He graduated in 1936 and obtained the professional qualification in Venice. In 1936, with his brothers Livio and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, opened a professional studio. During his military service from 1939 to 1943, he refuses to join the Social Republic of Salò, so he had to escape to Switzerland.
Since 1945, resumed his work as an architect, first with his colleague Achille Castiglioni, then, from 1946, with its own professional studio. In 1947 he devoted himself to the production (Azucena) of furniture and design objects with the architect Ignazio Gardella. They worked mainly in buildings in Milan and province: the Caccia Dominioni's House in Piazza S. Ambrogio(1947/50); some buildings in Piazza Carbonari (1960/61); the Palace of Santa Maria alla Porta (1961); the residential complex in San Felice, with Vico Magistretti (1967/75), the Church of St. Blaise at Monza (1968) and so on.
In 1975 he moved to the princedom of Monaco, where he built the skyscraper Parc Saint Roman.
Named for its 80 x 80 cm base made for supporting extra-large tops, this dining table has a rare brilliance. The round version has a diameter of 180 or 190 cm and the oval is wide or as Caccia put it "fat" (160 x 210 cm). The polyester gloss lacquer reduces light absorbency making the top into a black reflective mirror. The 16 cm-high steel band on the base protects the table from scuffing and above all, on account of the material and its inclination with respect to the floor, adds a mirrored surface that multiplies the effects of the light. Also in the version with the mahogany top with black gloss lacquered rounded edge, the Base Quadra is one of the many pieces designed by Luigi Caccia Dominioni that emanates indirect light.
Table with oval top with black gloss polyester lacquer, "torus" moulding in solid wood, base in wood with stainless steel band, 160 x 205 cm, height 72 cm.
Base Quadra top 160 x 205 cm or round diameter 160 cm thickness 25 mm.
Available in black gloss polyester lacquer or mahogany veneer with clear polyester finish.
Imbuto (Funnel) is the quintessential floor lamp, a stem of light stretching upwards. It was born as a tribute to the candle, the progenitor of all lamps. So why not extrapolate the essentials of the candle and reconstruct them according to the laws of electricity?
A twenty-centimetre circular cast iron base serves to anchor the slim polished or chrome-plated brass stand. The stem dilates ever so slightly at the top, creating a florescent repository that flows into the upturned cone of the reflector and lamp holder. Caccia Dominioni appropriately calls the lamp a “champagne flute” for its stylish form. Today it hosts a halogen lamp that produces a light of purest white to illuminate the surrounding space.
Height 192 cm
Base in black varnished cast iron,
diameter 20 cm.
Stand in polished or chrome-plated brass.
Reflector in metallic grey aluminium or polished
chrome-plated copper, diameter 20 cm.
Ceramic E27 socket;
recommended bulb: halogen 250W
Created by the legendary architect Luigi Caccia Dominioni for Azucena, Girevole is an elegant and sensual piece. Its top two tiers can each swivel (swivel is the english traduction for girevole) to become a staggered, multi-level occasional table.
Girevole table consists of three black polyester painted half-moon levels, which you can rotate to your taste to make this important piece take on the desired shape, tipping a wink to Alexander Calder's "mobile" sculpture.
Catilina was unveiled in 1957 at the 11th Triennale in Milan and it was used in an exhibition of Italian sculptor Francesco Somaini’s works in Como the following year. It has since come to be considered a milestone in the history of Italian design.
Catilina has been revisited over the course of the years and is currently available in a number of versions, including a small version (for use with tables), a steel version (plays on reflected light) and a low version (virtually an armchair). The curve of the backrest follows a precisely calculated geometry.
The issue was to model an iron bar into a ribbon that would compensate for the severity of the seat. A few short centimetres are all that is required for the ribbon of metal to curve into a comfortable high armrest. By this alchemy the sitter is offered the luxury of gliding their back along the sinuous contours of the backrest while remaining elegantly upright.
The frame in metallic automobile grey powdercoated cast iron supports an oval seat in polyester lacquered wood and leather or velvet cushion (size according to model).
Large chair in metallic grey iron 73 x 60 cm, height 90cm Seat in black polyester lacquer, height from ground 40 cm, oval cushion in expanded polyurethane foam height 10 cm, in Azucena leather, velvet or customer’s own material (yardage l. 1 m, w. 130 cm).
Large low chair in metallic grey iron 73 x 60 cm, height 65cm Seat finished in black polyester lacquer, height from ground 26 cm, oval cushion in expanded polyurethane foam height 4 cm, in Azucena leather, velvet or customer’s own material (yardage l. 1 m, w. 130 cm).
Small chair in metallic grey iron or stainless steel 56x46 cm, height 70cm seat finished in black polyester lacquer, seat height 40 cm, oval cushion in expanded polyurethane foam height 3 cm, in Azucena leather, velvet or customer’s own material (yardage l. 60 cm, w. 130 cm). upholstered seat in expanded polyurethane foam with internal frame in wood, seat height 43 cm, covering in Azucena leather, velvet or customer’s own material (yardage l. 60 cm, w. 130 cm).
This elegantly sober straight-backed sofa will sit comfortably against the wall, however, like all Azucena furnishings, it can also be used to define different spaces thanks to the clean, upright lines of the back. The backrest is slightly inclined and the armrests serve to "close off " the lateral perspective with the geometric forms connecting at points of inflection. The base of the sofa has a tied coil spring construction and cushions.
It can be covered in any material, although it was originally in soft mohair velvet; traditional colourings are dark green or FFSS red (once used by the Italian railways in its first class carriages). The sides of the Sant'Ambrogio armchair embrace the seat slightly more than for the sofas. This variation was born of the simple but pertinent observation that people sit "front-on" in armchairs, resting their head against the wings.
Three-seaters sofa with wooden frame, spiral-sprung seat, upholstery in differentiated-density expanded polyurethane, covered in green mohair velvet, cushions with removable covers.
Toro (Bull) was born to be "grand". This comfortable armchair was designed for large spaces and the first pieces were in fact intended to form conversation islands in the drawing rooms of the Monticello golf club, for which Caccia Dominioni also did the plans.The circular seat is moulded around a framework in round-section metallic grey iron tubing that forms three well-defined components. The first is the high, ample, circular upholstered seat, with two feet and two hidden wheels making it easier to shift.
The circular base is left visible to define the striking sweep of the floor line. The second is the integrated backrest/armrest formed by a padded roll that encases the iron tube, the end of which is visible on the front of the armrest, creating two "horns" to grab. The third component is formed by the headrest and rigid structure of the back with its fanlike ribbing running up from the base to the horizontal reinforcing rod, the ends of which are visible on the sides of the headrest.