Calvi Brambilla is a Milan-based design firm founded in 2006 by architects Fabio Calvi (Pavia, 1969) and Paolo Brambilla (Lecco, 1973). The studio is distinguished by its multidisciplinary approach to activities ranging from architecture to design, art direction and exhibition design. Fabio Calvi trained at the Milan Polytechnic and Brunel University of West London. After obtaining his degree in architecture in 1996, he worked for architects Gianfranco Frattini and Ferruccio Laviani. Paolo Brambilla also graduated in architecture from the Milan Polytechnic (in 1999) after studying at the Polytechnic University of Barcelona; in 2001, he received an honourable mention in the Europan 6 architecture competition. For nine years, he taught Interior Design at the Milan Polytechnic and from 2013 to 2017, he served as a board member of the Milan Association of Architects.
Their paths merged in 2006, and subsequently, Calvi Brambilla was born. The creative and dynamic office is committed to developing rigorous concrete projects based on solid technical expertise and refined cultural preparation. They boast prestigious collaborations with companies and brands like Antonio Lupi, Arketipo, Barovier & Toso, Bialetti, Cassina, Ceccotti, Comfort Zone, Dooor, FontanaArte, Grohe, Molteni & C., Saba, Serralunga, Olivari, Tonelli, Varaschin and Zanotta. Since 2019, they have been creative directors of Flos, a brand for which they designed the Teardrop collection of recessed ceiling lamps. They also collaborate with Il Fanale, creating the Typha hanging lamp collection.
Their collaboration with Varaschin resulted in the Tibidabo garden furniture collection consisting of a dormeuse, rocking chair, bed, lounger, small table, armchair, stool and floor lamp. They designed the Lapis outdoor line, the modular Bento sofa, the Bahia loungers, and the Kolonaki table for the same company. Fruitful collaboration with Antonio Lupi Design gave rise to the Sottosopra coffee table, the Ossimoro freestanding washbasin in Carrara marble, a series of crystal vases (in the Asa, Masa and Nisi variants), and the Raindrop recessed ceiling showerhead. For Pianca, they designed Verona, a wood wardrobe with sliding doors; Ettore (homage to Ettore Sottsass), an oval or round table; Baio (rectangular and round coffee table); Ettorino (square table in Venetian terrazzo); the Laurie armchair; and the Logos sideboard with wooden bedside table.
In 2015, their exhibition design at Palazzo della Permanente in Milan for the 50th anniversary of the founding of FLOS, was awarded the Gold Medal for Italian Architecture by the Milan Triennale. The same year, the firm won the "LC50" invitational competition for an installation at the Cassina showroom in Milan. The project for the Zanotta booth at the Salone del Mobile was selected for ADI Design Index 2016. The following year, they received the 2017 Good Design Award for the Ettore table and the Archiproducts Design Awards for the Bahia bed. Between 2018 and 2021, they won several editions of the German Design Award, the ADI Design Index and the Good Design Awards.
