Jo Colombo
Cesare ‘Joe’ COLOMBO was born in Milan in 1930 and trained as a painter at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan until 1949 before studying architecture at the Politecnico di Milano until 1954. He spent several years as an abstract expressionist painter and sculptor before pursuing a career in design. After the death of his father in 1959 he was left to run the family electrical business where he experimented with new materials including reinforced plastics as well as novel construction techniques and manufacturing methods.
In 1962 he established his own office in Milan focusing on architectural and interior design projects, the majority of which were for mountain hostels and ski resort hotels. His early designs reveal an interest in function born out of structures with strong sculptural qualities. In 1964 he was awarded the IN-Arch prize for his interiors for a hotel in Sardinia which included ceiling fixtures made from Perspex prisms which diffracted the light. He went on to produce chairs for Kartell including the Universale 4860 which was the first adult sized chair to be produced by injection moulded plastic (ABS). This led to further designs for furniture, lighting, wrist watches and accessories for Alessi, O Luce and Kartell amongst many others in a highly prolific career.
He died prematurely at the age of 41 from heart failure.
