Antonio Citterio Grand Conference Highback

Founded in 1950, Vitra is a Swiss company dedicated to improving the quality of homes, offices and public spaces through the power of design.

Vitra's furniture and concepts are developed in an intensive design process pairing engineering excellence with the creative genius of leading international designers. The result: interiors, furniture and accessories that are vibrant, functional, and inspiring.

Longevity of materials, construction and aesthetics are Vitra's leading principles, as demonstrated by their Classics – many in continuous production since the 1950s. Initiatives like the Vitra Campus architecture, the Vitra Design Museum, workshops, publications, collections and archives are all integral elements of Vitra's vision and culture.

Antonio Citterio was born in the Italian city of Meda in 1950. He graduated in architecture from the Politecnico di Milano and opened his own studio in 1972, focusing mainly on industrial design.

In 1999, Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel formed 'Antonio Citterio and Partners' as a multidisciplinary office for architecture, industrial design and graphics. The firm develops projects for residential and commercial complexes and industrial facilities, plans the restructuring and conservation of public buildings, and produces interior designs for work areas, offices, showrooms and hotels. In addition to their further activities in the sector of corporate communications, image and identity, Citterio and Partners also design installation fixtures and graphics.

Antonio Citterio currently works with prominent Italian and international firms such as Ansorg, Arclinea, Axor/Hansgrohe, Aubrilam, B&B Italia, Flexform, Flos, Fusital, Guzzini, Iittala, Inda, Kartell, Maxalto, Sanitec Group/Pozzi Ginori, Simon Urmet, Technogym, Tre Più and Vitra. He has also served as a professor on the architectural faculty at the Universita della Svizzera Italiana since 2006.

Citterio has received numerous awards, including the Compasso d'Oro in 1987 and 1995. The product designs Mobil and Battista, which Citterio designed for Kartell, belong to the permanent collection of the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Mobil, Battista, Dolly, Gastone and Oxo are part of the standing exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Tools Citterio 2000, his tableware series for Iittala, is displayed in the permanent design exhibition at the Chicago Museum of Architecture and Design together with the Axor Citterio bath fixtures created for Hansgrohe.

In January 2007, Citterio's design for a daycare facility in Verona for GlaxoSmithKline was nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award by the jury and included together with 32 other projects in the accompanying catalogue and exhibition. In July of the same year, the Italian publisher Skira produced the monograph Antonio Citterio: Architecture and Design.

Also in 2007, Citterio was named 'Royal Designer for Industry' by the London-based Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce.

Citterio is a member of the Italian Design Council, which was established by the Italian Ministry for Culture.