Italian architect, designer and teacher Alberto Rosselli was born in Palermo in 1921. He was considered the “innovator” of architecture and one of the primary architects to emphasize the concept of industrial design as it relates to the structure as a whole. After graduating in 1947 from Milan Polytechnic University, Rosselli, he became the pioneer of Industrial Design and proposed new teaching techniques about the concept and process of “decision-making” in design. He decided to create furniture pieces that were modern, functional, simple and affordable.

In 1951, Rosselli designed the first kitchen for a two-person apartment encompassing the principles of functionality and adaptability, this informed his practice of design, concepts and ideas. Rosselli was inspired by the work of Gio Ponti, who became a role model and a figure he followed and studied in his formative years. In the 1950’s Rosselli began to work with Ponti, founding Ponti Fornaroli Rosselli / Studio PFR. During this time, he was involved in the planning of the Pirelli Tower, his first architectural commission. From the 1950’s to his death in the 1976 Rosselli created designs for everyday items – furniture pieces, clocks and electrical appliances, with the concepts of functionality and modularity as his guiding principles.
“Poltrone Jumbo” modular seating elements constructed of fiberglass, designed in 1968 for Italian furniture manufacturer Saporiti, available in red, black, blue and white.

Mid-Century Modern Trapezoid Desk c.1955, composed of a long teak top with floating attached drawers on an iron frame. Designed by Studio PFR.

[Read more…]

Designer, Jacques Adnet was an icon of luxurious French Modernism.  He attended  École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was inspired by pre-classical styles and his avant-garde take on traditional pieces. Adnet believed in the functional aspect of furniture combined with geometric simplicity above all else. His streamlined, modernist designs emphasized luxurious materials – such as leather, chromed metals, mirror and precious woods. In 1950, Adnet formed a partnership with the French fashion house, Hermés, where he developed a collection of leather-covered furniture and interior accessories. One of his most iconic designs is the Adnet Mirror, a single circular pane hung from a leather strap. “What a lot of work to achieve simplicity,” he once said. During the 50’s he received numerous commissions as the designer for private apartments of the President at the Elysée Palace and the meeting room of the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Throughout his career Jacques Adnet forged relationships with a team of noteworthy collaborators including Charlotte Perriand, George Jove, Alexandre Noll and Serge Mouille. Ultimately he is best known as a designer who linked tradition and modernism with his inventive, elegant creations, defining himself as ‘innovative and classical, the champion of a tradition looking forwards.’

This Adnet armchair is constructed of black leather, with a cantilevered back perched on an enameled steel base, from the early 1950’s.

Adnet’s black bamboo desk has a central drawer with a gilded brass ring under a panel suspended over two saw horse splayed legs, in brass, steel and leather. Adnet’s design from the 1950’s still influences desks designed today.
[Read more…]

Born in the Italian countryside of Brianza to a well-to-do bourgeois family, Franco Albini (1905-1977) was inspired by his fond memories of the landscape and the precise beauty of tradition. After attending architecture school in Milan, he served his apprenticeship with Milanese Architects Gio Ponti and Emilio Lancia where he had direct contact with artisan cabinet-makers and talented craftsmen. In 1930 he opened his own practice. Utilizing the knowledge he gained from working with talented craftsmen – he created his own unique aesthetic, elegant design merged with traditional Italian artisanship and the new conceptual movement of modernism. In 1928 Albini created the iconic Albini Desk, which combined steel, glass and wood in a minimalist combination of balanced proportions. He continued to design some of the most famous and fashionable furniture pieces for companies such as Cassina, Arflex, Arteluce and Poggi and in 1964 he created a television set for Brionvega. Albini also worked as an architect and interior designer on important buildings in Rome and subway stations in Milan.

Albini’s  Fiorenza Chair, c.1952 was designed for Arflex. This lounge chair in leather with a wood frame embodies his ability to combine traditional elegance with modernist minimalism and clarity of form.

These rattan ottomans / poufs combine Albini’s rationality of form with the beauty of raw simple material c.1951.
[Read more…]