Cassina Radio in Cristallo
RADIO IN CRISTALLO
RADIO IN CRISTALLO
The essence of airy lightness
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.
DESIGNER
FRANCO ALBINI
He was a major figure in the Rationalist Movement, excelling in architectural, furniture, industrial and museum design. After receiving a degree in architecture from the Politecnico di Milano in 1929, he worked with the Ponti and Lancia design studios. His work for the magazine Casabella also played a key part in his development, marking his conversion to the Rationalist Movement and his becoming its spokesman on the Italian cultural scene.
When he set up his own practice in Milan in 1931, he took on the challenge of workers’ housing and continued in this vein after the war, thanks to the opportunities offered by the reconstruction projects he worked on with Franca Helg from 1952.During the 1940’s, Albini expanded his collaboration with Cassina, which started with chair designs that paved the way for his signature style.
He also pursued his furniture designs with other firms, such as Poggi. Milan and Genoa form the geographical axis where Albini left his strongest imprint. For the Lombard capital, he planned the development of the stations on Line 1 of the city’s subway system (1962/63), in collaboration with graphic designer Bob Noorda.
His numerous urban development and building projects for Genoa include the Palazzo Bianco (1949/51), Palazzo Rosso (1952/62), and Tesoro di San Lorenzo (1952/56) museums. Franco Albini was the recipient of many honors in recognition of the importance of his cultural contributions. Among others, he is a member of the INU, the CIAM, the Accademia Ligustica di Genova, MOMA in New York, the ADI, the Accademico di S. Luca, the Fondazione Pagano and the London Royal Society of Arts.
He also received numerous prizes, including the La Rinascente-Compasso d’Oro for the design of the Luisa chair (1955), the Bronze Medal from the Parson School in New York (1956) for his contribution to industrial design, the Olivetti Award for Architecture (1957), the Gran Premio Nazionale La Rinascente-Compasso d’Oro (1958), the La Rinascente-Compasso d’Oro Award for the Milan Line 1 Subway project (1964), and the Royal Designer for Industry title awarded by the London Royal Society of Arts (1971). In all his work, from home furnishings to industrial and museum design projects, Franco Albini always instilled a logical consistency, an extreme purity of expression and exceptional ethical and historical integrity.
The architectural and design work of Franco Albini represents a keystone of the Italian architectonic culture from the early 20th century through his intense activity revolving around a creative and rigorous approach to composition and building that expresses a particularly high degree of estheticism.
INFORMATION
PRODUCTION
Made in Italy
PRODUCT TYPE
Radio
BRAND
Cassina
DESIGNER
Franco Albini
CIRCUITS
- Electronic Circuit Board
- Hand-soldered Circuits
RADIO BANDWIDTH
- 95Hz - 19kHz
- 42Hz - 18kHz
DIMENSIONS
- Height : 72 cm
- Width : 66 cm, 28 cm
ELECTRICAL PARAMETERS
- Vin = 100-240V
- Pmax (sub-woofer) = 70W
- 50/60Hz / Pmax (radio) = 130 W
RADIO MODULE INPUTS
DAB radio / FM radio / BlueTooth A2DP (compatible with iOs and Android)
COMBINED PARAMETERS
Combined parameters of mobile radio and optional sub-woofer accessory.
DESIGN
Modern Italian Design
GLASS
Transparent Glass
FINAL CLASS
D
AMPLIFICATION
Tube Pre-amplification
SPEAKER SENSITIVITY
95dB
COMBINED OUTPUT POWER
100W
AMPLIFIER OUTPUT POWER
50W RMS
SUBWOOFER CONNECTED
WiFi
PRODUCTION YEAR 1938/2021
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.
CHARACTERISTICS
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.
