Company

The research for perfection is a constant imperfect circle.

Gallotti&Radice was the first company in Italy, right from the early seventies, to promote their love for the studio and the use of glass within furniture arrangements. Other people and companies later followed suit. This fact, presently and only naturally provides an advantage, but at the same time, also signifies a sense of responsibility in light of culture and specifically, design.

Gallotti&Radice is aware of this, and has presently assumed the task and role of continuing, keeping alive, the development of "genuine" glass designs. Glass, which is simultaneously extremely fragile and strong, transparent and unchangeable, light and enduring, must be tackled, by those designing architectural arrangements, with sincere respect and careful handling, with authentic poetry (which is true creativity as the Greek etymon confirms) and with intense discipline, with patience, reverence, tenacity. With love.

Glass and associated workmanship

The term glass become commonly used to indicate extremely high quality glass panels, with flat surfaces which are perfectly specular. The "float" process is used: the fused glass is drained from the oven into a watertight float. The glass floats on the liquid surface and levels out until it becomes a strip with parallel aspects.

Gallotti&Radice, with its vast experience working with glass, adopts various techniques and technologies when producing semi-finished goods which are subsequently used to achieve the end products.

Two different production lines, one highly industrialised and one focusing on handcraftsmanship associated with traditions, characterise the Gallotti&Radice work cycles: on one hand, production achieved using high-level technologies and sophisticated automated mechanisms (water jet cutter, industrial grinder, sheet tempering, cleaning and translucency procedures) enable the achievement of modular and multiple components, square and simple shape sheets for serial and standard products. Keeping the tradition alive with protocols with a handcrafted feel in order to offer a customised service, providing sought after forms, exclusive solutions, relying on the experience amassed throughout the years, where expert hands work the glass with care and knowledge transforming it into a design product.

Passion
for Glass.

1955

The Founding Members

Two minds, one ambition, one desire. The will to create, transform and interpret. A shared passion: for glass. This is how the ideas studio was born. It was 1955. Pierangelo Gallotti and Luigi Radice established an artistic space dedicated to glass decoration. Tradition and innovation came together to enable small-scale yet precious production. The first pieces included lighting appliances, furnishing items, mirrors. They were all one-off pieces. They were all made exclusively by hand.

Memories: Gallotti&Radice's story described by the founders

In a video dated 1991 Luigi Radice and Pierangelo Gallotti tell the origins and the artisan philosophy of Gallotti&Radice.

1956

Gallotti&Radice is born

Grow, make innovations, carry out research. The two associates became aware that they could not stop at artistic production and decoration only and felt the need and wished to expand the collection. They therefore enrolled at the School of Industrial Art at the Sforza Castle in Milan. Here, they took design and decoration courses, grasping every aspect of technical and ornamental design in detail. A unique project, a novel challenge was born: Gallotti&Radice was born.

The workmanship

Gallotti&Radice is characterised by detailed production, which necessitates continual research and great understanding and mastery of the various work processes.

The workmanship is not carried out by simply anybody. Extremely high level craftsmen are employed, those that are familiar with the material.

They understand the glass Masters and students who safeguard the secrets of the workmanship. A tradition which transcends generations.

1969

Luigi Massoni designs the first Gallotti&Radice table

This is how Adam was born. The architect, Luigi Massoni, explicitly requested the collaboration of Gallotti&Radice to create a furniture display cabinet pane in Milan, at the time, a reference store in terms of Italian design. A table set up for the Christmas celebrations was needed.

Adam was the first table created completely from light, transparent, elegant glass. It was 1971. It was an unexpected success.

The joint

A challenge and a clearly defined objective: create tables for a display within the Brionvega store in Rome. Join two glass surfaces, one horizontal and one vertical. Join them relying on a play of forms which evokes rationalism and novel modernity even in terms of the materials used: the glass and steel. The Tris small table set is born. The first of an extensive range of products characterised by the steel joint, which presents its relative beauty and elegance, serving to conceal the genuine attachment system.

1970

Sogo Italian Fair

Sogo Italian Fair, Royal Hotel Osaka, Kyoto: the very first time the Company participated in a sector trade show.

The kaleidoscope shape draws inspiration from the symbol of peace - a powerful and extremely recognisable sign at the time - and multiplied, by means of a play of mirrored elements and prisms, the scenographic effects of the fountain.

1972

Mia di Monza, first Italian trade show

Mia di Monza management asked Gallotti&Radice to create a sculpture to be placed in the entrance garden leading to the Villa Reale. Within the villa, Gallotti&Radice presents its home ideas: tables, lamps, beds, coffee tables, mirrors and furnishing accessories, all made from glass.

The 80s and 90s

Headquarters and family management

Gallotti&Radice is a family-run company. A family needs a place in which to live, a space in which to develop. Pierangelo Gallotti himself transformed such requirements into a project, with the help of Luigi Massoni. The building represents the soul of the company: empty and filled spaces, colours, light, transparency, simplicity and elegance are features forming part of the design. During this time, another significant event took place. The founding members have always managed the company with passion, commitment and dedication and even succeeded in transmitting these values to the new generation, which are still going strong at present with Silvia and Massimo Gallotti, Marco and Pierangelo Radice.

1989

Gallotti&Radice and the initial 30 years

2008

The office, the new challenge

Air demoting airiness, lightness, transparency and elegance which vehemently penetrate usually rigid and static areas: the office. The success of this collection is largely owing to the concept of novel aesthetics. And to the elegance of a timeless design. Least forgetting the visible quality. It is in the air. It transforms spaces and locations.

Presented in 2008, this collection managed to, with time, identify the requirements of a new market, transforming to presently become a complete system boasting extreme versatility. At present, Air represents the most widely sold Gallotti&Radice product both in Italy and abroad.

Made in Italy

Gallotti&Radice designs, creates, transforms and produces solely and fully in Italy. The end products demonstrate excellence, quality of details, finishes and forms. This is possible thanks to the experience which the Company has gathered over the years, constantly growing with a well-defined objective: to produce objects designed to withstand time.

Consideration
of the environment

Glass, aluminium, steel, represent the main materials which characterise Gallotti&Radice production (100% recyclable materials). One of the most important advantages of glass in terms of sustainability is, quite different from other materials, it can be fully recycled. The collection, separation and transportation may influence the feasibility and environmental impact of the glass recycling. The levels of contamination determine whether the glass will be used to produce floats, containers, fibreglass or aggregates, an aspect to which Gallotti&Radice pays lots of attention.

At the same time, the collection, separation, recovery and disposal processes of aluminium, steel, brass, paper and cardboard and all other workmanship rejects are handled with extreme care.

The awareness of ecological matters and respect for the environment was heightened in 2010 when Gallotti&Radice created a photovoltaic panel system which guarantees production of clean energy, producing 86,500 KWh per year.

A connection with the territory

Gallotti&Radice respects the territory in which it operates and pays specific attention, even when it comes to selecting its suppliers, which are all local, the majority of which, located in the large district of Brianza, which for many years has been working in the furniture sector, with mastery and excellence.