From his early start at his father’s boutique furniture and cabinetry atelier — Arredamenti Borsani (ABV) — Italian designer Osvaldo Borsani began to steadily dream to life the movement-inducing pieces that would eventually lead to him founding his innovative furniture company, Tecno, with his twin brother, Fulgenzio.
Born in the commune of Varedo in northern Italy’s Lombardy region, Borsani studied at the Brera Academy in Milan — the same school attended by such luminaries as designer Piero Fornasetti and artist Lucio Fontana — as well as the Polytechnic University of Milan. He first worked for the family furniture-making firm, ABV, an atelier influenced by the more expressive and curvaceous wing of Art Deco design. Borsani took over Arredamenti Borsani in 1937.
With his stylish and technically innovative furniture, Borsani helped change the face of Italian design in the 1950s and ’60s. His sofas and chairs, featuring deeply upholstered seating and adjustable position settings, have an aura of optimism and efficiency that still seems fresh and lively today.
While he is today recognized as a master of mid-century modernist Italian furniture, Borsani is most famous these days for cofounding Tecno. (He and Fulgenzio also created Villa Borsani, a visionary mid-century estate cherished for its modern lines and exquisite custom furnishings.)
When Borsani opened Tecno, an office-focused maker of industrial design, his design sensibilities had evolved toward furnishings with strong, simple forms enhanced by mechanical innovations, as with the P40 adjustable armchair.
When they were originally released, Tecno pieces like the P40 and the award-winning D70 sofa bed were acclaimed as cutting-edge, and they are still considered groundbreaking in their adaptability and functionality. The firm quickly garnered widespread acclaim for its tech-forward designs and quality craftsmanship.
Borsani would be Tecno’s lead designer for 30 years, while partnering on projects with the likes of architect Eugenio Gerli and fostering work by Vico Magistretti, Carlo De Carli, Robin Day and others.
Borsani designed pieces for Tecno until shortly before his death in 1985, when his daughter Valeria and her husband, Marco Fantoni, took over the creative work.
Today, the family’s legacy is preserved by Borsani’s architect grandson Tommaso Fantoni, who, along with Norman Foster, curated a blockbuster retrospective of Osvaldo Borsani’s work at Milan’s Triennale Design Museum in 2018.
Find vintage Tecno chairs, tables, desks and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Italian Glass Top on Chrome Executive 'Nomos' Desk by Norman Foster for Tecno
By Tecno, Sir Norman Foster
Located in Llanbrynmair, GB
A Large Executive Desk, designed by Sir Norman Foster and manufactured by Tecno, Italy. This vintage example dates to late 1980s and in superb original condition. A modern and sleek ...
Aluminum, Chrome
Exquisite D70 Sofa Daybed by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, 1954
By Tecno, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Voorburg, NL
Sofa/ Daybed ‘D70’, designed by Osvaldo Borsani and manufactured by Tecno, Italy 1954. This customizable D70 sofa has two pivoting wings, a very stable metal frame, and a beautiful f...
Brass, Steel
'D70' sofa bed by Osvaldo Borsani Tecno 1970 new gray fabric
By Tecno, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Sofa model "D70," design by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, Italy, 1970. The D70 features a mechanical structure that allows the seat and backrest to be tilted and transformed, offering d...
Metal
Desk, Made of Walnut by Osvaldo Borsani, 1954
By Osvaldo Borsani, Tecno
Located in Berlin, DE
Chique and minimal, rare desk designed by Osvaldo Borsani in 1956 and manufactured by Tecno Italy. the plate and the drawers are made of walnut wood, its construction is made of bla...
Metal
Mid-Century Modern Italian T69 Round Table by O. Borsani and E. Gerli for Tecno
By Osvaldo Borsani, Tecno, Eugenio Gerli
Located in Prato, IT
Mid-Century Modern Italian "T69" table with round carrara marble top and gold and black aluminum saber legs by Osvaldo Borsani and Eugenio Gerli for Tecno. 1970s The marble top pres...
Carrara Marble, Aluminum
Italian modern Gray plastic aluminum Chair Modus SM 203 by Borsani Tecno, 1980s
By Tecno, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian modern Gray plastic aluminum Chair Modus SM 203 by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, 1980s Chair mod. Modus SM 203 with seat and backrest comp...
Aluminum
Minimal Leather Armchair Model "D101" by Tecno, Italy, 1980s
By Tecno
Located in Milan, IT
Rare leather armchair model D101 by Tecno. Originally custom-conceived by Centro Progetti Tecno for a private bank, the model was later put in serial production. Pure squared proport...
Leather
$1,340Sale Price / set|19% Off
1980s Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno Swivel Wheeled Office Chairs
By Osvaldo Borsani, Tecno
Located in IT
Five office swivel wheeled chairs by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, made in Italy in 1980s. Stamped on the bottom and marked Tecno on the side, made of red, white and wine color plastic....
Metal
$2,281Sale Price / set|20% Off
set of 4 signed eugenio gerli S82 chairs by tecno
By Eugenio Gerli, Tecno
Located in Munich, DE
well made dining or meeting chairs by tecno. interesting connection and composition of wood and metal. foam and fabric professionl redone.
Metal
Italian modern Adjustable office chair Modus by Osvaldo Borsano for Tecno, 1980s
By Tecno, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian modern Adjustable office chair Modus by Osvaldo Borsano for Tecno, 1980s Office or desk chair mod. Modus with seat and backrest in ivory-white plastic monocoque. On the seat ...
Metal
Norman Foster Black Aluminium and Glass Nomos Round Table for Tecno, 1988
By Tecno, Sir Norman Foster
Located in Vicenza, IT
Nomos round table, designed in 1986 by Sir Norman Foster and produced in 1988 by Tecno. Its gleaming glass tabletop, supported by a black lacquered aluminum structure, offers an unp...
Aluminum
$5,823 / set
Tables Gigognes - ModèleT61
By Tecno, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Paris, FR
Set of three side tables in rosewood, veneer and metal legs by Italian designer Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno
Metal
Osvaldo Borsani P 40 For Tecno 1960's
By Tecno, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Brussels, BE
The versatile and comfortable P40 lounge chair was designed by Osvaldo Borsani in 1955 for Tecno. The chair can be adjusted into over 400 positions; the back can be reclined in diffe...
Metal, Brass
First Edition P40 Lounge Chair by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, 1960s, Italy
By Tecno, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Renens, CH
Osvaldo Borsani, an Italian architect and furniture designer, aimed to create a lounger that would go beyond the bulky, static nature of the “comfortable chair”. The result was the P40 lounge chair, which could be adjusted in many different positions depending on the user’s preferences. With the P40 lounge chair, Borsani created one of the most recognized pieces of the Italian post-war design movement. Available we have a first edition P40...
Metal
Eugenio Gerli, Trolley bar mod. B106, prod. Techno, 1966
By Eugenio Gerli, Tecno
Located in Rivoli, IT
Mobile-bar mod. B106 in lacquered wood produced by Tecno in 1966. Good condition, small signs of time on the outside
Steel
Détabilisation Table by François and Fréder Morellet for Tecno
By Francois and Frederic Morellet, Tecno
Located in Milan, Italy
This table was created through collaboration with Francois Morellet, the eclectic French artist (painter, sculptor and light artist). Born in 1926, he was an exponent of minimalist a...
Crystal, Steel
Set of Six Folding Chairs by Justus Kolberg for Tecno, Italy, circa 1990
By Tecno
Located in Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires
Set of six folding chairs by Justus Kolberg for Tecno. Italy, circa 1990. Model P08.
Metal
$3,422Sale Price / set|20% Off
4 chairs Wood and leather S82 Eugenio Gerli for Tecno 1960's
By Eugenio Gerli, Tecno
Located in Milano, MI
set of 4 chairs with wooden frame and leather upholstery. Designed, in the early 1960s, by Eugenio Gerli for Tecno. Very elegant and sturdy chair with steel inserts and joints. The c...
Leather, Wood
Sofa Daybed D70 Designed by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno
By Tecno, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Brussels, BE
Sofa daybed D70 designed by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, original brown ribbed upholstery.
Brass, Steel