Luigi Colani - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Luigi Colani, is a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

industrial designer whose father came from Madulain

Madulain

Madulain is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-Geography:Madulain has an area, , of . Of this area, 33.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 14.6% is forested...

near St. Moritz

St. Moritz

St. Moritz is a resort town in the Engadine valley in Switzerland. It is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden...

in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

.

The prime characteristic of his designs are the rounded, organic forms, which he terms "biodynamic" and claims are ergonomically

Ergonomics

Ergonomics is the study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body, its movements, and its cognitive abilities.The International Ergonomics Association defines ergonomics as follows:...

superior to traditional designs. His "kitchen satellite" from 1969 is the most prominent example of this school of thought. Many of his designs for small appliances are being mass-produced and marketed, but his larger designs have not been built, "a whole host of futuristic concepts that will have us living in pods and driving cars so flat that leg amputation is the only option."

The earth is round, all the heavenly bodies are round; they all move on round or elliptical orbits. This same image of circular globe-shaped mini worlds orbiting around each other follows us right down to the microcosmos. We are even aroused by round forms in species propagation related eroticism. Why should I join the straying mass who want to make everything angular? I am going to pursue Galileo Galilei's philosophy: my world is also round. — Luigi Colani

He has received numerous design awards.

Colani currently resides in Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe

The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...

, Germany. His son Solon Luigi Lutz is also working as a designer. He lives in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, Germany.

Career timeline

1946: Studied sculpture

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin

Berlin

(academy of fine arts).

1948: Study of aerodynamics

Aerodynamics

Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...

at Université Paris-Sorbonne in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

1953: Head of New Materials project group at McDonnell-Douglas in California.

1954: Receives the Golden Rose

Golden Rose

The Golden Rose is a gold ornament, which popes of the Catholic Church have traditionally blessed annually. It is occasionally conferred as a token of reverence or affection...

international prize for creation and design, in Geneva

Geneva

Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, Switzerland, for special Fiat

Fiat

FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...

bodywork; he is the originator of many Fiat

Fiat

designs in the coming years.

1957: Colani's Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...

design is the first sports car

Sports car

A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....

to clock a lap of under 10 minutes at the Nürburgring

Nürburgring

The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...

; it can now be seen in the Martini Rosso Museum.

1958: Catamaran

Catamaran

A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...

racing success in Hawaii

1959: The world's first monocoque sports car: BMW

BMW

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...

700

1960: World's first kit car in series: 1700 cars, Colani GT

1963: Elephant piggy bank

1965: Worldwide success with furniture design: Asko, Fritz-Hansen, Cor, Kusch+Co.

1966: Sports coupe, IAA Frankfurt

1968: Two piece plastic cutlery for Thai airlines, Museum of Design Zurich

Museum of Design Zürich

The Museum of Design, Zurich is a museum for industrial design, visual communication, architecture, and craft in Zurich, Switzerland.- Overview :...

1970: Headquarters with major design team at Harkotten Castle near Sassenberg

Sassenberg

Sassenberg is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approx. 6 km north-east of Warendorf and 30 km east of Münster....

, Germany. Enormous success, work and exhibitions worldwide for many companies of major repute.

1972: Design of Eifelland

Eifelland

Eifelland was a German Formula One team, named after its German owner Guenther Hennerici's caravan manufacturing company. Guenther owned a very successful caravan business and in the beginning he saw racing a great possibility to advertise his product the caravan...

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

car. First contacts with Japanese companies. Unsuccessful design for an Olympic rowing boat

1973: First Far East study trip; Japan recognizes Colani's potential. Invitation by five companies to establish a Colani Design Center Japan. Rosenthal

Rosenthal

Rosenthal is a name of German origin, meaning rose valley, and may refer to:* Rosenthal, Hesse, in the Waldeck-Frankenberg district* Rosenthal , a part of Berlin, Germany* Rosenthal, a part of Peine in Lower Saxony...

's Teapot Drop designed by Colani in Cooper-Hewitt Museum in N.Y.

1976: RFB Fanliner, the first plastic sports airplane with a Wankel rotary engine constructed

1978: Revolutionary trucks, aircraft, car and ship studies at exhibitions worldwide

1981: Fuel economy world record set by the Colani 2CV (based on the French Citroën

Citroën

Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...

2CV

Citroën 2CV

The Citroën 2CV |tax horsepower]]”) was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1948 and 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with uncompromisingly utilitarian unconventional looks, and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer...

, 1.7 litres for 100 km with the original 2CV engine and chassis.

1982: Relocation to Japan

1983: Professor in Japan/Tokyo "5 Systems" camera prototypes for Canon

1984: No. 1 industrial designer in Japan; Otaru exhibition, 60 m large shell

1985: Colani Robot Theatre most-attended at the Tokyo Tsukuba Expo. Pontresins propeller-driven airplane unveiled, having two contra-rotating coaxial pusher propellers with scimitar blades mounted in the tail. The propellers, also known as "centripetal supersonic propellers", were a new design idea. The plane was a design study and is not airworthy.

1986: Receives the Golden Camera Award for the Canon

Canon Inc.

is a Japanese multinational corporation that specialises in the manufacture of imaging and optical products, including cameras, camcorders, photocopiers, steppers and computer printers. Its headquarters are located in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan.-Origins:...

T90

Canon T90

The Canon T90, introduced in 1986, was the top of the line in Canon's T series of 35 mm Single-lens reflex cameras. It was the last professional-level manual-focus camera from Canon, and the last professional camera to use the Canon FD lens mount...

. Colani motorcycle world record in Italy. Foundation of the Colani Design Bern, Switzerland.

1987: Colani exhibition at Centre Georges Pompidou

Centre Georges Pompidou

Centre Georges Pompidou is a complex in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles, rue Montorgueil and the Marais...

, Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. Car design for Mazda

Mazda

is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales...

, Japan. Pen design for Pelikan A.G., Germany. Cormoran

Colani Cormoran

The Colani Cormoran CCE208 was a five-seat light aircraft under development in Germany in the late 1980s. The highly-streamlined and unusual design was the work of the aeronautical engineer Walter Schulze with the collaboration of the celebrated industrial designer Luigi Colani. A particularly...

aircraft design displayed as mockup at Paris Air Show

Paris Air Show

The Paris Air Show is the world's oldest and largest air show. Established in 1909, it is currently held every odd year at Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France...

1988: Toulouse and Bremen branch offices. Professor h.c. of the University of the Arts Bremen

University of the Arts Bremen

The University of the Arts Bremen is a publicly funded university in Bremen, Germany and one of the most successful ones whose roots in music, arts and design date back to 1873...

Preparation on a widescale basis for record speed on land, water and air and economy world records in Utah, USA

1989: Sony

Sony

, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

headphones by Colani placed in Museum of Modern Art

Moma

Moma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. Formation of the company Colani Trading AG in Zürich, Switzerland

1990: Exhibition in Centre International de l'Automobile car museum in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

; Presentation of the new Swissair

Swissair

Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...

uniforms designed by Colani

1991: Creation of optical frames and jewelry collection; Colani Ferrari

Ferrari

Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...

sets record at Bonneville Speedway

Bonneville Speedway

Bonneville Speedway is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Utah, that is marked out for motor sports. It is particularly noted as the venue for numerous land speed records....

in Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

1992: Computer mouse design for Sicos; creation of the Colani cosmetics collection; Colani signs a contract with European computer chain Vobis of Germany

1993: Presentation of the Colani field glasses; Shopping center exposition through Switzerland

1994: Colani Vobis Highscreen computer gets award for the Computer of the Year 1994. Cooperation with Carl Zeiss

Carl Zeiss

Carl Zeiss was a German maker of optical instruments commonly known for the company he founded, Carl Zeiss Jena . Zeiss made contributions to lens manufacturing that have aided the modern production of lenses...

Jena

1995: Cologne, Germany opens new head office of Colani's design works. Designs for major companies in the construction and building industry. China's ambassador invited Colani for future projects to Shanghai, China. Awarded Honorary professorship in the Department of architecture college of architecture and urban planning at Tongji University

Tongji University

Tongji University , colloquially known as Tongji , located in Shanghai, has more than 30,000 students and 8,000 staff members . It offers degree programs at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels...

, Shanghai

1996: Office furniture designs for Grahl, Michigan USA. Architecture project presentation for Shanghai, China, called Bio-City.

1997: Created a new piano for famous piano builder Wilhelm Schimmel

Wilhelm Schimmel

Schimmel is a German piano maker. The company was founded in 1885 in Leipzig by Wilhelm Schimmel. This company is especially popular for its high quality concert grand pianos. In August 2009, the biggest piano maker in Germany became insolvent and was protected from its creditors in a manner...

. Start of the DESIGN-show through more than 30 shopping centers in Germany.

1998: Start of a bank terminal design project with one of the world's leading computer manufacturers. Design for a new microscope and photo camera at the Colani Shanghai office. Water bottle design for Carolinen-Brunnen, Germany.

1999: Presentation of a new "shower" (bathroom-combination)-generation for the German company Dusar. Furniture project with Kusch & Co., Germany. A world leader in porcelain, Rosenthal

Rosenthal

, Germany, plans to promote a special edition of the famous "Drop" teapot designed by Colani.

2000: "Human-City" architecture model by MW Energie AG in Mannheim, Germany. Colani optical frames presentation at optical shows in Milan, Paris and Las Vegas.

2001: Design for a new microscope and photo camera (for Seagull) at the Colani Shanghai office. Six exhibitions through shopping malls (ECE-group) throughout Germany. COLANI-Calendar for Castrol-Germany.

2002: Leading Swiss mineral-water company Valser (acquired by Coca-Cola in 2002) presents new bottle design by Colani. Start of another exhibition-tour through over 25 shopping malls (until 2004) by ECE-Group. Opening of a world-leading museum of design, Pinakothek, in Munich, Germany (including several Colani designs). Spitzer-Silo presents new Colani truck at IAA in Hannover, Germany.

2003: Uniforms designed for the Hamburg Police

Hamburg Police

The Hamburg Police is the German Landespolizei force for the city-state of Hamburg. Law enforcement in Germany is divided between federal and state agencies...

(adopted later in whole Germany). Designed the tt-62-plane for hp-aircraft.de. Futuristic car design: Speedster shark (see "Visions").

2004: Guest Speaker and Presenter at World Economic Forum WEF in Davos, Switzerland. Porcelain giftware creations (Cappuccino, Espresso mugs). "Life on Board" project for Volvo

Volvo

AB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...

cars House design for Hanse-Haus, Germany.

2005: Design study for a passenger airplane with 1,000 seats Study for a robot shaped like a baby
Completion of a series of 140 sculptures of athletes for the Olympic Games in Beijing
Participation in the "Germany in Japan 2005-6" event in the form of the "Colani Back in Japan" exhibition in the Museum for Kunst and Design attached to the Kyoto Institute of Technology.

2006: Completion of a Colani Supertruck with extreme streamlining Colani lecture at Nancyhalle/Karlsruhe with Karim Rashid Tokyo designers week

Tokyo Designers Week

Tokyo Designers Week is an annual design event that takes place at Meiji Jingu Gaien in central Tokyo, Japan. The event features product design, interior design and has expanded to include art and graphic design as well as short films.-Location:...

speech in Tokyo.

2009: Presentation of the first AGOS Computer Series, Opus Magnum, designed by Colani at the Nowa Zukunftsmesse in Marburg, Germany.

External links

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