Claudio Salocchi
Claudio Salocchi was an Italian architect and designer who played a prominent role in the creative ferment of the 1960s and 1970s. He had the ability to anticipate design trends by interpreting the transformations of that era in a forward-thinking design vision encompassing forms, functionality, technologies, and new typologies that would become trends many years later.
Over his long career spanning more than fifty years, Claudio Salocchi worked internationally in the fields of industrial design, architecture, and interior design. He was an independent and unlabelled figure, and his design output was primarily associated with exclusive collaborations with certain companies that emerged during that period. These companies quickly gained recognition for the uniqueness of their products, making a significant contribution to the history of Italian design that deserves to be rediscovered and explored.
In the early 1960s, Salocchi began a creative partnership with the young entrepreneur Luigi Sormani that lasted for two decades. Among the most significant pieces from this collaboration were the renowned rotating bookshelf “Centro,” his first designed product from 1959, and forward-thinking projects like the “Elisse” series in 1966, characterized by the innovative use of extruded aluminum profiles, which were elevated to both aesthetic and functional value. In the same year, he created the “Lia” chair with leather seating and an original forward cantilevered profile, consisting of a structure made from cold-bent aluminum alloy bars. In 1968, he introduced the archetypal “Paione,” a low and deep “sofa” made up of various modular elements that revolutionized the living space, bringing a new, more informal and communal way of living to the center of the room. In 1971, in collaboration with Sormani, he introduced “Aloa,” one of the very first lamps with halogen light sources for domestic use. In the same year, at the Salone del Mobile, the “Appoggio” was presented, an unusual vertical seating solution designed for new workplace needs, transportation, waiting, and the changing demands of a new world.
Equally innovative were his lighting and upholstered furniture projects signed under the “Skipper” brand in the 1970s and 1980s, which continually proposed new lifestyles. The “Ri-flessione” lamp, the “Feeling” sofa, and, especially, the “Free System” materialized the utopia of a modern and unconventional home.
In the unique and experimental decades of the Italian design industry from the 1990s onwards, Claudio Salocchi established a strong connection with artisanal production, particularly with Bottega Gadda and Pierluigi Ghianda, in a continuous dialogue between design and architecture. Projects were created with an emphasis on the spirit of the Genius loci, and objects were offered in limited and dedicated series.
Claudio Salocchi’s five-decade career included projects for Alberti Cucine, starting in the mid-1960s with the first version of the S60 model, which introduced new ergonomic and domestic work standards. His pursuit of synthesis between form and function reached its pinnacle with the “MetrOsistema” project, a program of multifunctional containers awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1979.
As a member of ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale) since 1967, where he later became vice president in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he actively promoted Italian design.
Salocchi also conducted research, focusing on aspects of prefabrication, creativity, and global design problems. He participated in various editions of Eurodomus and, with the collaborative efforts of artist friends such as Ugo Carrega and Vincenzo Ferrari, with whom he formed the group “Ricerche Non Finalizzate” (Unfinalized Research), he took part in the exhibitions at the Milan Triennale in 1968 and 1973. In the 15th edition in 1973, he presented, alongside Sormani, the original series of “Napoleone” tables and display units.
In 1984, he organized and curated the important exhibition “Cucina&Cultura” at the Milan Fair, addressing the relationships between complementary areas well ahead of recent trends.
In the field of architecture, his design work was at its best in the redevelopment of existing buildings, which, when reassembled functionally and modernly, found a new dialogue between the territories of the soul and the landscape, often through the magical medium of contemporary art. Additionally, he should be remembered for several surprising and cutting-edge exhibition setups in the fields of furniture and jewelry, engaging the viewer in a synthetic vision characterized by ambiance and refined details.
Claudio Salocchi
Claudio Salocchi was an Italian architect and designer who played a prominent role in the creative ferment of the 1960s and 1970s. He had the ability to anticipate design trends by interpreting the transformations of that era in a forward-thinking design vision encompassing forms, functionality, technologies, and new typologies that would become trends many years later.
Over his long career spanning more than fifty years, Claudio Salocchi worked internationally in the fields of industrial design, architecture, and interior design. He was an independent and unlabelled figure, and his design output was primarily associated with exclusive collaborations with certain companies that emerged during that period. These companies quickly gained recognition for the uniqueness of their products, making a significant contribution to the history of Italian design that deserves to be rediscovered and explored.
In the early 1960s, Salocchi began a creative partnership with the young entrepreneur Luigi Sormani that lasted for two decades. Among the most significant pieces from this collaboration were the renowned rotating bookshelf “Centro,” his first designed product from 1959, and forward-thinking projects like the “Elisse” series in 1966, characterized by the innovative use of extruded aluminum profiles, which were elevated to both aesthetic and functional value. In the same year, he created the “Lia” chair with leather seating and an original forward cantilevered profile, consisting of a structure made from cold-bent aluminum alloy bars. In 1968, he introduced the archetypal “Paione,” a low and deep “sofa” made up of various modular elements that revolutionized the living space, bringing a new, more informal and communal way of living to the center of the room. In 1971, in collaboration with Sormani, he introduced “Aloa,” one of the very first lamps with halogen light sources for domestic use. In the same year, at the Salone del Mobile, the “Appoggio” was presented, an unusual vertical seating solution designed for new workplace needs, transportation, waiting, and the changing demands of a new world.
Equally innovative were his lighting and upholstered furniture projects signed under the “Skipper” brand in the 1970s and 1980s, which continually proposed new lifestyles. The “Ri-flessione” lamp, the “Feeling” sofa, and, especially, the “Free System” materialized the utopia of a modern and unconventional home.
In the unique and experimental decades of the Italian design industry from the 1990s onwards, Claudio Salocchi established a strong connection with artisanal production, particularly with Bottega Gadda and Pierluigi Ghianda, in a continuous dialogue between design and architecture. Projects were created with an emphasis on the spirit of the Genius loci, and objects were offered in limited and dedicated series.
Claudio Salocchi’s five-decade career included projects for Alberti Cucine, starting in the mid-1960s with the first version of the S60 model, which introduced new ergonomic and domestic work standards. His pursuit of synthesis between form and function reached its pinnacle with the “MetrOsistema” project, a program of multifunctional containers awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1979.
As a member of ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale) since 1967, where he later became vice president in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he actively promoted Italian design.
Salocchi also conducted research, focusing on aspects of prefabrication, creativity, and global design problems. He participated in various editions of Eurodomus and, with the collaborative efforts of artist friends such as Ugo Carrega and Vincenzo Ferrari, with whom he formed the group “Ricerche Non Finalizzate” (Unfinalized Research), he took part in the exhibitions at the Milan Triennale in 1968 and 1973. In the 15th edition in 1973, he presented, alongside Sormani, the original series of “Napoleone” tables and display units.
In 1984, he organized and curated the important exhibition “Cucina&Cultura” at the Milan Fair, addressing the relationships between complementary areas well ahead of recent trends.
In the field of architecture, his design work was at its best in the redevelopment of existing buildings, which, when reassembled functionally and modernly, found a new dialogue between the territories of the soul and the landscape, often through the magical medium of contemporary art. Additionally, he should be remembered for several surprising and cutting-edge exhibition setups in the fields of furniture and jewelry, engaging the viewer in a synthetic vision characterized by ambiance and refined details.
