Alberto Meda

Alberto Meda is an engineer focusing on design, born in Lenno, in the Italian province of Como in 1945. He graduated with a laurea in Mechanical Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano in 1969. From 1973 he was the technical manager of Kartell, in charge of the development of projects of furniture and plastic laboratory equipment.

In 1979 he worked as a freelance industrial designer for various companies: Alfa Romeo Auto, Alias, Alessi, Arabia-Finland, Cinelli, Colombo design, Brevetti Gaggia, JcDecaux, Ideal Standard, Luceplan, Legrand, Mandarina Duck, Omron Japan, Philips, Olivetti, Vitra, etc.

Alberto Meda came to design from engineering, bringing with him a pragmatic mind, and an attention to details in materials and production process, in addition to formal concerns. This applied-science background has shaped Meda’s recognizable stamp of elegant simplicity, designs that are at once modern in form and organic in feel. It was this individual sophistication that caught the eye of Rolf Fehlbaum, the chairman of the Swiss manufacturer Vitra, who commissioned the Italian engineer to design a chair some 20 years ago. Thus began a collaboration that continues to this day, resulting in some of the most memorable seating pieces up to and including the MedaPro and the newest design from 2005, the MedaPal.

Exhibitions

• "Creativitalia" Tokio 1990, and a personal exhibition at the "Design Gallery", Matzuia Ginza in Tokio 1990.
• "XVIII Triennale in Milan" 1992, "The lightness" section of "Il giardino delle cose".
• "Mestieri d'Autore" 1993 in Siena
• "Design, miroir du si裬e", at the section "Le sens et la mati貥", Paris 1993
• "Mutant materials in contemporary design" at MOMA, New York 1995; at Center for Modern Art, Prague 1997; at Groninger Museum- Groninger 1997
• Meda – Rizzatto exhibition at Binnen Galerie-Amsterdam 1996 Lighting Affinities, Milano 1996
• A personal at Salon du Meuble, Paris 1999
• "Italia e Giappone design come stile di vita" ?Yokohama, Kobe 2001

Teaching and research

• From 1983 to 1987 lecturer on industrial technology at Domus Academy.
• Seminars at International Design Symposium in Fukui, at Workshop Design Quest in Osaka, and at Design Center in Tokyo.
• From 1995 lecturer at Politecnico of Milan "Corso di Laurea di Disegno Industriale" with a design lab.
• From 1995 to 1997 member of Board of Designlabor Bremerhaven, Institut fur System-und Produktgestaltung.
• Since 2003 lecturer at IUAV in Venice with design workshops.
• Several lectures in Chicago, in St. Louis at Washington University, "And now?" in Stockholm, Boisbuchet, Miami, San Paulo, Ulm, Istanbul, Toronto, Mexico
• Masters Design workshop at Design for Humanity "Washing hands" on invitation of Satyendra Pakhale, industrial designer.

Awards

• 1989 "Compasso d'oro" for the "Lola" lamp, by Luceplan .
• 1992 "Design Plus" prize for Titania lamp, by Luceplan
• 1994 "European Design Prize " for his work with Luceplan.
• 1994 "Compasso d'oro" for the "Metropoli" lamps series, by Luceplan.
• 1995 "Industrie Forum design" Hannover for the UNI-X family lamps.
• 1996 "Industrie Forum design" Hannover for the Titania Clamp lamp
• 1997 I.D design review – "Best of category" with Vitra – Meda chair
• 1999 Designer of the year, Salon du Meuble de Paris
• 2000 Bundespreis Produktdesign 2000/2001 with Meda chair
• 2001 Good Design Award Chicago Athenaeum with Arabia's Water
• 2002 Reddot award for Iittala Knives
• 2005 "Honour Royal Designer for Industry" Londra RSA
• 2006 "Design Plus" and "Light of the future" for MIX led lamp by Luceplan
• 2007 INDEX:Award with Solar Bottle
• 2011 "Compasso d'oro" for "teak table" by Alias .
• 2012 Best of "Design Plus" perOtto Watt di Luceplan

Some products are part of permanent collection of Museum of Modern Art of Toyama and since 1994 The Museum of Modern Art in New York, includes in its Design Collection "Light light " chair 1987, "Soft light "chair 1989, "Longframe" 1991 by Alias, and "On-Off" lamp by Luceplan1988.

He works and lives in Milan.

External links

• Biography at Meda's website
• Profile at DesignCelebrity