A Look Back at Gio Ponti’s Superleggera Chair
Gio Ponti regarded his Superleggera for Cassina as one of his three major masterpieces. (The other two are his Pirelli Tower in Milan and Taranto’s Concattedrale Gran Madre di Dio.) Named after the Italian term for super-lightweight (clocking in at just 3.7 pounds), the ash and rattan chair represented an exciting take on the Ligurian region’s traditional chiavarina. Ponti’s first iteration, the Leggera of 1951, distilled into an even more elemental form in 1957 with the lithe Superleggera, which achieves its stability from struts slotted together. To test the design, it was thrown from the fourth floor of an apartment building; the chair bounced on the street but did not break. Ponti was satisfied and the rest, as they say, is history: Superleggera has been produced continually ever since.
read more
DesignWire
Denver Art Museum Celebrates Architect Gio Ponti for 50th Anniversary
In 2021, when the pandemic will hopefully be behind us, one building on the two-block site that forms the Denver Art Museum turns 50. Its age is significant but its architect even more so: Gio Ponti. Furthermor…
Projects
At Home With Cini Boeri in Sardinia
Not so long ago, in Italy, women architects were few and far between. In fact, when Cini Boeri graduated from the Politecnico di Milano in 1951, she was one of only three.
Products
This Chair by Sebastian Herkner is Made to Move
German designer Sebastian Herkner ingeniously melded the mobility of a task chair with the comfort of a lounge chair. Light in scale and with an attached leather handle on the back—not to mention a glide or caster base…
recent stories
Products
Abner Henry Teams Up With The Met for Latest Collection
Contemporary design brand Abner Henry collaborates with the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a collection inspired by the institution’s artworks.
Products
An Origami Game Inspires New Seating by MUT Design and Ames
A paper toy’s familiar shape inspires seating that references the game’s folding pyramidal forms courtesy of MUT Design in collaboration with Ames.
Products
Surf Pro Kassia Meador Collaborates on Ethereal Wallpaper
The design of this clay-coated wallpaper explores moments where water meets earth in Eskayel’s collaboration with pro surfer Kassia Meador.