Collection 077 – Furnitures
After I gave up my activities as an architect I found time to design furniture. Furniture and lamps have always played an important role in my life. Together with my first wife I started in 1964 a showroom at Neumarkt 17 in the center of Zurich where we presented modern Italian design for the first time in Switzerland from the collections Gavina, Flos, Artemide and others designed by Carlo Scarpa, the Castiglionis, Sottsass, Magistretti, Breuer and many more.
Many of the designs in this catalogue are based on early sketches in old diaries which I had no time to realize at that time. New ideas emerged as it always happens when one is diving into a matter.
Influences of the art I grew up with are strong: Magritte taught me to question everything, Oldenburg showed me how to change the meaning of objects by changing their scale. Fontana took my inhibition to cut into intact surfaces. Beuys introduced me to the beauty of the material felt.
All the pieces were built as prototypes partly by myself. If there is a demand they will be produced in small series.
Doppio Vetro
Is a low table of oak or walnut with the possibility to exhibit precious objects between two panes of glass. The form is based on a square with diagonals in plan and section.
Fachiro
Is a bed consisting of 300 spring elements fixed into a sheet of red aluminum. When a sleeping person is lying on a thin blanket of felt, the elements adapt to the body and can still be felt. Unique sounds are produced by movement. Corbotta
Corbotta
In alternating layers of white and gray felt are pinned together with the help of fibula pins. The allusion to two names of famous architects is obvious.
Feltro. The armchair and double seater consist of three lengths of thick folded felt (two on the sides and one in front, the seating surface and the back) held together with four fibula pins. Folding provides stability for the soft material.
Cuore
In the floor lamp a stainless steel support carries a shade consisting of three heart-shaped acrylic panels. They form the cut-off top of a cube which stands on one corner.
The series of Luna lamps consists of gigantic blown up weather balloons with a halogen light in the center. The rubber material has a tendency to leak slightly, so the lamps need repumping after a few days. The lifespan of the rubber material is limited.
The lamp Mittenza was designed in 1970. The light cast through the assembled four chromed elbows forms interesting shadows on the wall.
