Alberto Meda (* 1945 in Tremezzina/Italy) studied mechanical engineering at the Milan Polytechnic. From 1972 to 1979 he was technical director for Kartell, after which he worked as a freelance designer for companies including Alias, Alessi, Cinelli, Colombo design, Ideal Standard, Luceplan, Legrand, Mandarina Duck, Omron Japan, Philips, and Olivetti. Between 1981-85 he also served as a project consultant for Alfa Romeo. His collaboration with Vitra began in 1984 and the first joint venture, the Meda Chair, was presented in 1986. Since then, Alberto Meda has worked closely with Vitra designed range of chairs for Vitra including MedaPro and MedaPal. Since 2003 Meda has taught at the University IUAV of Venice and lectured in places diverse as Chicago, St. Louis (Washington University), Stockholm, Boisbuchet (Vitra Design Museum Workshops), Miami, São Paulo, Ulm, Istanbul, and Toronto. Some products are part of the permanent collection of Museum of Modern Art of Toyama and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Today, Alberto Meda works and lives in Milan.
Designer Alberto Meda
...brussels "Alberto Meda... Tension and Lightness" at the Museo del Design Italiano, Milan, Italy For all that Italian designer Alberto Meda is most famously known for his office chairs, in the course of his 50 year career he has not only developed projects across a wide range of genres, but also continually reflected on and refined his approach and methods...
...Whereas Vitra's airport portfolio has until now featured a combination of designs from the company's wider programmes, including, for example, the Eames plastic chairs or designs by Maarten van Severen, and specially developed projects such as Airline by Sir Norman Foster or the Meda Gate family by Alberto Meda, in Cologne Vitra are presenting with Verner Panton's Cloverleaf Sofa from Verpan a new string to their bow, namely a co-operation with another manufacturer...
...Opening with a collection of objects that stand as representative for the three decades under consideration, including, for example, the 1939 Littorina autarchica wood and aluminium bicycle, a table from Enzo Mari's 1974 Proposta per un’autoprogettazione project or the 2014 3D printed lamp "In tensione" by Alberto Meda for Belux, the exhibition then moves on to explore in more detail how Italian designers responded to the particular challenges of the autarky of the 1930s, austerity of the 1970s, and autonomy of our modern age...
With autum's algid wind in our faces and the promise of mince pies and Glühwein in our tails we approached November and a design tour through Brandenburg, met Napoleon in Erfurt and discovered that the Eames plastic armchairs and plastic side chairs used to...
...When we met Italian designer Alberto Meda at Orgatec 2010 he told us that he was working on his next project for Vitra... But perhaps best of all is the fact that Physix is not competition and/or a replacement for Alberto Meda's highly successful Medapal and Medapro office chairs for Vitra, but rather a compliment and extension of the options...
