Brown Velvet Fiberglass Armchair by Luigi Pellegrin for MIM Roma, 1950s, Italy

Although he was best known as a leading figure of organic architecture in Italy, architect Luigi Pellegrin also created sleek and luxurious mid-century modern furniture that included designs for modular seating and more, particularly during the 1950s and 1960s.

Born in 1925 in Courcelette, Pellegrin attended school in Rome, where he met legendary American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1951. Upon meeting Wright — and later seeing his work in person — Pellegrin became greatly influenced by Wright’s organic approach to architecture. This philosophy, which refers to buildings that exist in harmony with their natural surroundings — had a profound influence on the shape of modern life. 

Pellegrin became a member of the A.P.A.O. Association for Organic Architecture, an organization founded by his mentor, Italian architect Bruno Zevi in 1945. Zevi, who studied with Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius at Harvard Graduate School of Design, encountered Wright’s work in America and suggested Pellegrin visit the United States, where the mentee experienced Wright's architecture at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. He later wrote about Wright’s work in a monthly periodical founded by Zevi called L'architettura Cronache e storia.

At the Art Institute of Chicago, Pellegrin was shown drawings made by Louis Sullivan, an architect and mentor to Wright as well as others who came to be associated with the Prairie School. From the 1950s onward, Pellegrin established a reputation for his gigantic urban infrastructures and complex, technologically intricate designs. The influence of Wright can be found in Pellegrin’s designs for private and public buildings in Lombardy and Rome. He patented prefabrication systems, built hundreds of schools (more than 70 of which were in Saudi Arabia) and much more.

During the late 1950s and 1960s, Pellegrin turned his attention toward furniture design, collaborating with award-winning postwar furniture manufacturer MIM Roma, where he was mentored by Ico Parisi, a Palermo-born architect and one-half of a prolific furniture design duo he comprised with his wife, Luisa. The company, founded in 1957, focused on producing pieces created by new, visionary designers such as Pellegrin, Carlo Scarpa, Gio Ponti and others that were innovative, visually artistic and embraced Italian modernism. 

Pellegrin designed several seating pieces for MIM Rosa, including sectional sofas, modular living room sets and armchairs featuring sculptural bases and square or rectangular forms. The furniture was made using materials such as metal and fiberglass and often came upholstered in velvet, faux leather, polyester and bouclé wool.

Today, Pellegrin’s furniture is coveted by architects, interior designers and collectors of Italian 20th-century modernist design.

Find a range of vintage Luigi Pellegrin furniture on 1stDibs.