Model AEO Chairs by Archizoom for Cassina, 1970s, Set of 4

Italian radical design collective Archizoom Associati was founded in Florence in 1966. Adopting an attitude of design vigilantism, their work critiqued modernism and its inherent propensity to promote consumerist, style-driven societies.

Archizoom’s founding members—Andrea Branzi (b. 1938), Gilberto Corretti (b. 1941), Paolo Deganello (b. 1940), and Massimo Morozzi (1941-2014), with designers Dario and Lucia Bartolini joining in 1968—met while studying at the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Florence; these years in Italy (and beyond) were marked by an economic downturn, housing shortages, and governmental fumbling.

According to legend, the young architects of Florence were stirred to action by the course Spazio di coinvolgimento (Space of Involvement), taught by Leonardo Savioli, which criticized the psychological, social, and spiritual alienation endemic in the design of modern cities. Other radical, anti-design groups were spawned from Savioli’s class as well, including 9999, Superstudio, UFO, and Zziggurat. And all of these Italian groups also found inspiration in the work of neofuturist British architectural collective Archigram, as well as international representations of Pop Art.

Archizoom initially came to prominence through a pair of anti-consumerist exhibitions entitled Superarchitettura, organized in collaboration with Superstudio, first in Pistoia in 1966 and again in Modena in 1967. The following year, Archizoom participated the iconoclastic exhibition Centro di Cospirazione Eclettica at Milan’s Triennale and designed a series of theoretically driven gazebos that were published in Ettore Sottsass’s Pianeta Fresco magazine.

Archizoom’s most enduring and influential contribution to the anti-design movement was their 1969 No Stop City, an ironic urban plan for an artificially lit, air-conditioned, infinite city that takes modernist ideology to its logical extreme.

Archizoom was also invited to participate in the landmark 1972  Italy: The New Domestic Landscape at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. For this era-defining exhibition, the Archizoom installed Gray Room—a featureless environment animated only by a woman’s voice describing a beautiful, colorful house—alongside the work of other Italian visionaries like 9999, Gae Aulenti, Mario Bellini, Joe Colombo, Gruppo Strum, Ugo La Pietra, Gaetano Pesce, Alberto Rosselli, Ettore Sottsass, and Marco Zanuso with Richard Sapper.

Before they disbanded in 1974, and the individual members went on to pursue separate careers, Archizoom designed a range of iconic pieces for Poltronova: Superonda Sofa (1966), Safari Sofa (1966-7), Dream Bed (1967), and Mies Armchair (1969).

* Images courtesy of Centro Studi Poltronova, Graham Foundation, and Frac Centre

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.