MADE IN CASSINA

 There is no old or new museum that traces the history of design, that does not have objects, or rather masterpieces, of Cassina production in its collection. The Cassina company was born as a continuous place of research and production. To give a clear idea we will call it "laboratory-nursery", where, inside you were able to intercept truly multifaceted and interesting authors. We can say that Cassina was a good "mother", always welcoming architects and designers of good caliber for 80 years.

It begins...
It all began in Brianza, in 1927, with Umberto and Cesare Cassina, two complementary brothers, one projected towards challenges and the other more concrete. Amedeo Cassina's children were far-sighted in meeting the new post-war bourgeois demands that tended to modernize following America’s example.

The collaborators
This is how the working relationships with Nino Zoncada, Gustavo Pulitzer and Gio 'Ponti begun. It is at this moment that with the Cassina-Ponti duo great possibilities are opened in respect to the economic growth of our Country. Then we add De Carli, Parisi, Confalonieri, Parisi and Pozzi. These are the years of the Italian boom and the economic and organizational aid of the Marshall Plan. This is how the MADE IN ITALY label begins to spread.

Evolution
At the end of the 1950s, the Cassina world met Vico Magistretti, a worthy replacement for Ponti. For the next 20 years, the Magistretti style would be the strongest reference model made up of elegant but at the same time casual products.

Some curious models:

- LC1 ARMCHAIR: A light and compact seat, designed and presented in 1929 at the Salon d’Automne together with other important models such as the LC2 and LC3 armchairs, the LC6 table and the LC4 chaise-longue. Like all the works of Le Corbusier, the LC1 armchair also derives from an in-depth study on body posture and, in this specific case, it offers itself as a perfect support for composed relaxation that favours conversation. The balance between form and function relies on the use of Modulor, a system based on the typical measurements of the human body and on a mathematical language based on the proportions of universal harmony. Its perfect compositional simplicity, adaptable to different contexts, is available in three different versions which, in addition to the 1929 model, include the 1928 version for Villa Church and the 1930 version for the exhibition at the Union des Artistes Modernes. The model is Greenguard eco-certified for LC-Y leather and trivalent chromium.

- Willow 1: This throne-chair is a re-edition of the model that the Scottish architect donated in 1904 to the "Willow Tea Room" in Glasgow, his hometown. The high and semicircular back served as a divider between the antechamber and the rear room. The backrest wraps the seat perfectly representing the geometric and floral style of Mackintosh. The creation of this seat combines advanced technology and Cassina's high-end cabinetry, particularly recognizable in the craftsmanship with which the components are assembled to create the light and refined structure.

- CHAIR MODEL 688: Reproduced continuously since 1957, the Superleggera represents an exclusive synthesis between Gio Ponti's research and Cassina's advanced experimentation, becoming an undisputed icon of modernity and artisan refinement. Its constructive challenge is contained in the triangular section of the legs, of only 18 millimeters and with a minimum weight of 1,700 grams, while the structure in elastic and light ash is combined with the seat frame in beech wood, more compact and resistant to load. . The wooden elements, made by machine, are finished manually through the meticulous procedures of gluing with a brush, cleaning from residual glue and stuffing of the seat. Artisan wisdom and industrial innovation meet in a "prime object", inspired by the traditional Ligurian “chiavarine” and offered both in the classic version and in the colored variants with padded seat.



Cassina still continues to emerge for its intuition and to fill the most beautiful houses in the world with its furnishings.