Model 1110 Lounge Chair by Angelo Mangiarotti for Cassina, Italy, 1960s

Highly esteemed for his researched and controlled approach to materials, Italian architect, sculptor, and designer Angelo Mangiarotti was born in Milan in 1921. Having graduated from the Politecnico di Milano with an architecture degree in 1948, he moved to the United States in 1953. There, he held a visiting professorship at Chicago’s Illinois Institute of Technology and befriended famous architects Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), Walter Gropius (1883-1969), Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), and Konrad Wachsmann (1901-1980)—all of whom influenced his work immensely.

Mangiarotti returned to Milan in 1955 and opened an architectural firm with Italian architect Bruno Morasutti (1920-2008). The pair designed industrial, residential, and cultural institutions, such as the Via Cantore Skyscraper (1955) in Genova and the Mater Misericordiae Church (1957) in Milan. The partnership dissolved in 1960.

From 1963 to 1990, Mangiarotti held lecturing positions at a number of distinguished design and architecture schools in Italy and abroad. In 1989, he founded Mangiarotti & Associates, based in Tokyo. He later served as the Creative Director at Colle Cristalleria from 1989 to 1992.

Beyond his many architectural feats, Mangiarotti’s portfolio includes a wide array of creative projects—ranging from sculptures, like Cono-cielo (1987), to products, like his Fratelli Brambilla Ashtrays (1968)—that demonstrate his masterfully modern handling of traditional materials like glass and marble. His designs were produced by the most progressive brands of his day, including Artemide, Bernini, Cappellini, Knoll, and, most famously Skipper, which produced the Incas Table (1978), Estral Shelving System (1981), Chicago Chair (1983), and Central Table (1985), among others. He’s also famous for his collection of Murano glass-link Giogali Lighting (ca. 1967) produced by Vistosi.

Over his the course of his career, Mangiarotti won numerous awards in both design and architecture, such as the Domus Formica Award (1956), the Prix Européen de la Construction Métallique (1979), a Career Compasso d’Oro (1994), and the Marble Architectural Award (1994, 2007). His work has been featured in many exhibitions worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Triennale Design Museum in Milan, and Gallery MA in Tokyo.

In 2012, Mangiarotti passed away in Milan at the age of 91. His daughter Anna Mangiarotti (b. 1950) is a professor in architecture technology at the Politecnico and works closely with Vistosi to manufacture her father’s designs as well as her own. Since 2010, Agape Casa has owned the license to produce a number of Mangiarotti’s most beloved designs.

* Images courtesy of Studio Mangiarotti, Agape Casa, Artemide, and Vistosi

Italian furniture manufacturing giant Cassina, originally named Amedeo Cassina, was founded by brothers Cesare (1909-1979) and Umberto (1910-1992) Cassina in Meda, Italy in 1927. Although initially specialized in bespoke woodworking and high-end interiors, by the 1950s the brothers took the company in a new direction, anticipating the growing demand for mass-produced home furnishings. Cassina is often credited with introducing industrial design to Italy and has built an international reputation for collaborating with some of the world’s most respected designers.

Notably, in 1964 (while famed architect Le Corbusier was still alive), Cassina signed the first exclusive licensing agreement covering the edition rights for designs by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand. The company soon after launched the I Maestri Collection which over the decades has gathered major icons of design under the Cassina brand, such as the LC4 Lounge (1928) jointly designed by Le Corbusier, Jeanneret, and Perriand, as well as Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld’s 635 Red & Blue Armchair (1918), Scottish architect-designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Hill House Chair (1902), and many more.

With a focus more on partnering with the best designers rather than creating and maintaining a particular style, Cassina is responsible for some of the most recognized and beloved designs of the 20^th and 21^st centuries. Highlights include Italian architect-designer Gio Ponti’s Superleggera Chair (1957), German designer Konstantin Grcic’s Kanu Chair (2009), Iranian-British architect Zaha Hadid’s Zephyr Sofa (2013), and French designer Philippe Starck’s My World Sofa (2013).  Throughout its visionary collaborations with both design luminaries and cutting-edge experiments with new talents, Cassina has remained dedicated to the Italian design ideals of craftsmanship and quality, and the brand continues to excel in the fusion of industrial technology and artisanal production.

Cassina’s designs are included in permanent collections the world over, such as the Museum of Modern Art (New York), Vitra Design Museum (Weil am Rhein) and London Design Museum.

Cassina is now a part of the prestigious Poltrona Frau Group.

* All images courtesy of Cassina.