Born in Milan in 1905, Franco Albini was an Italian architect, urban planner, and furniture designer active between the 1930s and the 1960s. He studied at the Polytechnic University of Milan and apprenticed under architect and designer Gio Ponti, playing a key role in the development of the Italian Rationalist movement in the years leading up to World War II. In the postwar years, Albini continued to design furniture and plan buildings, aiming to achieve expressive purity through the use of affordable materials and the concept of modularity. Although his work tends toward formal reduction and simplification, he was able to maintain warmth and charm derived from a respect for tradition. Albini worked with several renowned mid-century manufacturers, including Cassina, Arflex, Poggi, Arteluce, Brionvega, and others, with some of his designs still in production today. He received many honors for his work, including three Compasso d’Oro awards, and many of his designs are considered iconic.