Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 15

Franco Albini Radio in Cristallo, by Cassina

About the Item

Radio in Cristallo station by Franco Albini in 1938. Relaunched in 2021. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. Radio in Cristallo goes straight to the heart of the project that Franco Albini created as a prototype-model in 1938 for his home. He took apart and reassembled a radio in a wood cabinet received as a wedding gift, exposing the electric components by pressing them between two sheets of tempered glass. A tribute to lightness, a step that catapults the designer in the direction of bold modernity that, by demonstrating progress, narrates its value. In concert with Fondazione Franco Albini, Cassina has optimized the design the architect entered into a competition by the Swiss company Wohnbedarf in 1940, keeping the same size while adding new Bluetooth technology and an optional subwoofer that, connected to Wi-Fi, creates a more enveloping atmosphere. Radio in Cristallo will also be offered in a special limited edition of only five pieces. The Radio in Cristallo L.E., with a numbered metal plate on the side of the structure, will feature white knobs and an electronic circuit board with all hand-soldered circuits. A radio at the forefront of modern Italian design, developed from a canny intuition to put the electrical components in plain view, thereby exposing the public to the technology, demonstrating how it works. With the Radio Cristallo of 1938, created by reassembling a wedding gift, Franco Albini expresses his enthusiasm for progress, transforming technology into a design piece that narrates the radio itself, thanks to the thin, transparent glass sheets that surround the radio itself. This design accessory gets a contemporary technology upgrade with incorporated Bluetooth and an optional subwoofer to connect to WiFi ? for an even more encompassing ambiance. In the super-limited edition of just five pieces, the Radio in Cristallo L.E. has an electronic circuit board and hand-soldered circuits. About the designer: Minimal in form from concept to design, Albini’s furniture emerged from a traditional Italian craftsmanship practice. Using artisanal materials such as woven cane for the design of some of his most seminal works, such as the Margherita and Gala chairs, Albini applied a modern aesthetic to the design and construction of his products. Trained under the apprenticeship of famed Italian furniture designer Gio Ponti, Albini got his start with the design of a radio encased in glass revealing the inner mechanisms of the device. His later works developed from this tension between usability and style, and including products such as the Fiorenza, Luisa and Rocking chaise. Albini was also a celebrated architect working on important architectural projects in Italy such as the Rome Rinascente building and Milan subway stations. About the manufacturer: In a continuing dialogue between past, present, and future, Cassina has created the I Maestri collection, revisiting furnishing designs by the 20th century’s best-known architects, including Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, Franco Albini, Frank Lloyd Wright and Marco Zanuso. While the designs and functional concepts have been precisely preserved, the models have been manufactured using evolved technology. This is also the company that has manufactured iconic pieces of contemporary design from the 1950s to the present day, ideated by some of the most important international designers. Today Cassina continues to look to the future of design with audacious, passionate curiosity and an open, holistic approach. It affirms its exclusive ability to furnish a home’s living and dining spaces completely and iconically with The Cassina Perspective: a concept, a philosophy, an informed, futuristic thought. A detailed, expansive horizon of combinations; when placed together, the products have an innovative soul and the modern icons create authentic, welcoming, personal atmospheres involved in a conversation dominated by a code of design excellence, formal sensitive awareness, solidity and cultural authority.*
  • Creator:
    Cassina (Manufacturer),Franco Albini (Designer)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 11.03 in (28 cm)Width: 25.99 in (66 cm)Depth: 28.35 in (72 cm)
  • Style:
    Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    Contemporary
  • Production Type:
    New & Custom(Current Production)
  • Estimated Production Time:
    14-15 weeks
  • Condition:
  • Seller Location:
    Barcelona, ES
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: RT.13.02.23.GB.5041stDibs: LU1427232739602

Shipping & Returns

  • Shipping
    Retrieving quote...
    Ships From: Barcelona, Spain
  • Return Policy

    This item cannot be returned.

1stDibs Buyer Protection Guaranteed
If your item arrives not as described, we’ll work with you and the seller to make it right. Learn More
About the Seller
4.9
Located in Barcelona, Spain
Platinum Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are 1stDibs' most experienced sellers and are rated highest by our customers.
Established in 2015
1stDibs seller since 2015
1,338 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 3 hours
More From This SellerView All
  • Franco Albini Veleiro Bookcase, Wood by Cassina
    By Cassina, Franco Albini
    Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
    Bookcase designed by Franco Albini in 1940. Relaunched in 2011-19. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. Defying the laws of physics, going beyond what we normally understand by the ...
    Category

    2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases

    Materials

    Metal

  • Franco Albini Veleiro Bookcase, Wood by Cassina
    By Cassina, Franco Albini
    Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
    Bookcase designed by Franco Albini in 1940. Relaunched in 2011-19. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. Defying the laws of physics, going beyond what we normally understand by the ...
    Category

    2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases

    Materials

    Metal

  • Franco Albini Veleiro Bookcase, Black Stained Wood by Cassina
    By Cassina, Franco Albini
    Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
    Bookcase designed by Franco Albini in 1940. Relaunched in 2011-19. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. Defying the laws of physics, going beyond what we normally understand by the ...
    Category

    2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases

    Materials

    Metal

  • Franco Albini Bookcase; a Masterpiece of Italian Craftsmanship and Design
    By Cassina, Franco Albini
    Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
    Introducing the remarkable Veliero Bookcase, designed by the renowned Franco Albini in 1940 and relaunched by Cassina in Italy between 2011 and 2019. This exceptional wooden bookcase...
    Category

    2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases

    Materials

    Metal

  • Franco Albini Cavalletto Table, Wood by Cassina
    By Cassina, Franco Albini
    Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
    Table designed by Franco Albini in 1950. Relaunched in 2008. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. This table, with its minimal lines and an extremely light look, underscores the ext...
    Category

    2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables

    Materials

    Metal

  • Franco Albini Tre Pezzi Armchair by Cassina
    By Cassina, Franco Albini
    Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
    Armchair designed by Franco Albini in 1959. Relaunched in 2009. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. In 1952, working with Franca Helg, his long-time assistant, Franco Albini designed Tre Pezzi...
    Category

    2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs

    Materials

    Metal

You May Also Like
  • Cassina Veliero Bookcase in Ash by Franco Albini
    By Franco Albini, Cassina
    Located in Vancouver, BC
    The iconic Veliero bookcase re-invents the concept of balance, becoming the furniture poster child for the visionary work of Franco Albini. Given its flexible use, this double-sided ...
    Category

    2010s Italian Modern Bookcases

    Materials

    Brass, Stainless Steel

  • Franco Albini Veliero Bookcase for Cassina, Italy, new
    By Cassina, Franco Albini
    Located in Berlin, DE
    The price given applies to the piece as seen in the first picture. Prices vary dependent on the chosen material. The shelf is available in natural ashwood or black stained ashwood wi...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases

    Materials

    Metal

  • Franco Albini Modular Bookcase "Infinito" for Cassina, Italy, new
    By Cassina, Franco Albini
    Located in Berlin, DE
    The price given applies to the bookcase as shown in the first picture. Prices vary dependent on the color, size and material. Modular Bookcase designed by Franco Albini, relaunched in 2008. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. An extremely flexible bookcase, with myriad modular options, suited to being against a wall or as a room partition...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases

    Materials

    Wood

  • Italian Midcentury Bookcase by Franco Albini
    By Franco Albini, Poggi
    Located in Carpaneto Piacentino, Italy
    Modular bookcase designed by Franco Albini in 1956 for Poggi Pavia. An extremely flexible bookcase, with different modular options, suited to being against a wall or as a room parti...
    Category

    Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases

    Materials

    Wood, Walnut

  • "Lb7" Bookcase by Franco Albini for Poggi
    By Poggi, Franco Albini
    Located in Rovereta, SM
    Teak library, Franco Ablini for Poggi, Italy, 1950. Elegant Franco Albini library or room divider. Shelves and units can be adjusted or put in di...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases

    Materials

    Teak

  • Franco Albini Infinito Modular Bookcase
    By Franco Albini
    Located in Milano, IT
    Franco Albini (1905-1977) Infinito original book unit. Large modular bookcase made up of 6 vertical uprights, container elements with hinged doors and lo...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases

    Materials

    Teak

Recently Viewed

View More

The 1stDibs Promise

Learn More

Expertly Vetted Sellers

Confidence at Checkout

Price-Match Guarantee

Exceptional Support

Buyer Protection

Trusted Global Delivery