Kartell was founded in 1949 by the engineer Giulio Castelli and has developed over the decades into a major manufacturer of plastic furniture and accessories. The Componibili side containers are now classics of the company and the history of design and enjoy great popularity worldwide. The modular storage aids, whose elements can be conveniently stacked on top of each other, were designed by the Milan-based designer Anna Castelli Ferrieri, the wife of the company founder, and who was responsible for the artistic direction of Kartell from 1976 to 1987. Thanks to modern technologies, Kartell has developed various plastics that are always tailored to the application area of the products. The popularity of the Componibili stems from the fact that they are so versatile and meet various requirements: whether in the bathroom, in the dining room or in the bedroom, the storage system proves to be functional, practical, flexible and robust in every room, without losing any of its lightness. The Componibili containers are a perfect illustration of Kartell's 60-years experience in combining technological, industrial, economic, social, aesthetic and cultural aspects.
Componibili round with three compartments
Componibili from bio-plastic
Componibili Smile
Kartell is always looking for innovative and durable plastics, and thanks to the latest technologies and the Labware development department, has developed a wide range of high quality products in close collaboration with engineers and renowned designers. The Componibili, which became a cult object of the manufacturer and Italian design, have developed steadily since their beginnings; in addition to the side-by-side containers in the classic, well-known colours, the company also offers metallic versions that provide special highlights in the living area. As part of the "KartellBio" project, the Italian manufacturer launched new varieties of recyclable bioplastics that shine in fresh spring colours. To mark the 50th anniversary of the product, designer Fabio Novembre reinterpreted the icon by taking the classic round holes of Componibili and transforming them into emotional facial expressions, making Kartell furniture increasingly popular in children's rooms. For her designs, the designer has received several awards and Kartell's Componibili is represented in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and in the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris.
The Componibili can also be found in doctor's waiting rooms
...In 1966 Anna Castelli Ferrieri planned and built a new production and administrative complex for Kartell in the southern suburbs of Milan before moving on to develop numerous successful furniture design projects for the company, the best known and most important being without question being the Componibili modular storage system from 1969...
One of the biggest challenges facing product designers in coming years will undoubtedly be the question of planned obsolescence. For while we genuinely believe that the majority of designers understand their responsibilities in terms of sustainability and...
...In addition to helping establish the golden era contemporary Italian design in the 1960s and 1970s as characterized by the likes of Joe Colombo or Ettore Sottsass, Anna Castelli Ferrieri also contributed to the Italian design canon with her 1969 Componibili modular storage system; a system that remains a classic of contemporary Italian design...
