1991 Pearwood Pepper Mill by Andrea Branzi for Alessi

Andrea Branzi was born in Florence in 1938 and studied as an architect at the Florence School of Architecture, receiving a degree in 1966.

From 1964–74, Branzi was a founding member of the experimental group Archizoom, which envisioned the No-Stop-City among other projects. A key member of the Studio Alchimia, founded in 1976, he went on to associate with the Memphis Group in the 1980s. Branzi lived and worked in Milan, and until 2009 he was a professor and chairman of the School of Interior Design at the Polytechnic University of Milan.

Branzi distinguished himself as a co-founder of Domus Academy, the first international post-graduate school for design. He was a three-time recipient of the Compasso d’Oro, honored for individual or group effort in 1979, 1987 and 1995. Branzi’s work was featured in the Venice Biennale and Milan Triennale, and he curated the design exhibitions of the latter. He was widely published and was frequently invited to lecture internationally. 

In 2008, Branzi was named an Honorary Royal Designer in the United Kingdom and he received an honorary degree from La Sapienza in Rome. That same year, his work was featured in an installation at the Fondation Cartier, Paris. 

Branzi’s works are held in the permanent collections of the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, among others.

Find vintage Andrea Branzi floor lamps, table lamps, armchairs and other furniture on 1stDibs. 

(Biography provided by Goldwood)