Model Fortebraccio Parete D33 Sconce by Alberto Meda and Paolo Rizzatto for Luceplan, 1990s

Born in Como in 1945, Italian designer Alberto Meda studied mechanical engineering at the Politecnico di Milano, graduating in 1969. His pragmatic and rational training has engendered designs that are clear, precise, and functional—which has attracted commissions from a wide variety of major design brands.

From 1972 to 1979, Meda was the technical director for Kartell , where he oversaw the production of furniture collections and equipment. During these years, he had the opportunity to work alongside a number of inspiring design luminaries, including the Castiglioni brothers, Richard Sapper, and Marco Zanuso . He also befriended a number of proponents of radical design, like Franco Raggi, Daniela Puppa, and Denis Santachiara, who encouraged him to transfer his focus from production to design. Since 1979, Meda has worked as a successful freelance designer for the likes of Alfa Romeo, Alias, Alessi, Cinelli, Colombo Design, Ideal Standard, Luceplan, Legrand, Mandarina Duck, Omron Japan, Philips, Olivetti, and Vitra.

Notably, in 1994, Meda’s minimalistic design aesthetic caught the eye of Vitra CEO Rolf Fehlbaum, who commissioned Meda to design a chair—now known as the Meda Chair (1996-98). The collaboration is ongoing, and Meda has made a significant contribution to the success of Vitra's Office Collection.

Although Meda is a versatile designer who works across scales, his designs tend to share an aura of the scientific. Standout pieces by Meda include Light-Light Chair (1984-87) and Soft-Light Chair (1989) for Alias; Lola Lamp (1987) and Titania Lamp (1989) for Luceplan; Tondo Watch for Alessi (2004); Honeycomb Folding Chair for Kartell (2008); and Physix Task Chair for Vitra (2012).

Meda’s work has been exhibited in museums worldwide, including MoMA New York, Vitra Design Museum, and the  Triennale in Milan. He is the recipient of four Compasso d’Oro awards (1989, 1994, 2008, 2011); in 2005 London’s Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (RSA) named Meda an Honorary Royal Designer for Industry.

Meda lives and works in Milan.

* Images courtesy of Alberto Meda, Alias, and Kartell

With work that spans furniture, graphics, public and private interiors, exhibitions, renovations, and, most prolifically, lighting, Milanese designer-entrepreneur Paolo Rizzatto is most saliently remembered as the founder of Luceplan, the Italian lighting brand qua spiritual successor to Gino Sarfatti’s pioneering Arteluce , which, in 1974, was absorbed into Flos. 

Born in Milan in 1941, Rizzatto attended his hometown technical university—Politecnico di Milano—whose alumni list includes Marco Zanuso Jr., Castiglioni Brothers, ,Tito Agnoli, , , and Patricia Urquiola. After graduating in 1965, Rizzatto went to work for lighting company Arteluce, for whom he designed his tour-de-force, swiveling, gravity-defying Mod 265 Wall Lamp (1973), which featured 360-degree rotation for aiming light in any direction. Flos still produces it today. 

In 1968, Rizzatto laid the groundwork for his eponymous architectural studio; in 1972 he unveiled his first architectural project, Segrate Daycare Center. He maintained a steady architectural output into the following decades, as he further cultivated his sensibility for smaller-scale design, often returning to light fixtures, especially for workspaces. He soon consolidated his efforts in this area, alongside Gino Sarfetti’s son Ricardo, with the founding of Luceplan in 1978. The sleek, lightweight-aluminum D7 Light (1981), created by Rizzatto in collaboration with Sandro Colbertaldo for Luceplan, garnered a Compasso d’ Oro in 1981. 

Other award-winning designs by Rizzatto for Luceplan include the Berenice Desk Lamp (1987), developed in cooperation with Alberto Meda; the futuristic-looking Lola Floor Light (1989); the maritime-flavored Metropoli Wall Light (1994); the delicately economic Mix LED Desk Lamp (2005); and the diamond-like Hope family of refracting lights (2011), designed alongside Argentinian designer Francisco Gomez Pas. Rizzatto’s immensely popular Constanza (1986) and Constanzina (1992) series can be found in New York’s Museum of Modern Art collection. 

Never one to leave a stone unturned, Rizzatto has frequently engaged the world of furniture design, and, in the past decades, has cultivated a portfolio which includes tables, seating, and accessories for Artemide, Cassina, Danese, Knoll Inc. / Knoll International, Kartell, Molteni, Philips, Poltrona Frau, and Thonet, among others. Alongside his frenetic design work, Rizzatto has also held lecturing positions at the Architecture Institute of Moscow, Columbia University of New York, IUAV in Venice, and his alma matter, the Milan Polytechnic University.