Luigi Caccia Dominioni Set of Six Catilina Chairs in Steel and Fabric Azucena

Set of six 605 Quinta chairs with a black steel rod frame seat and back in bent perforated sheet metal. Designed by Mario Botta for Alias in 1985 (This chair is no longer in production). The Quinta chair it's an architecture you can sit on, this design clearly shows the inspiration of iconic designer as Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, and Carlo Scarpa, an exemplary of this iconic chair is also exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art. Mario Botta was born in 1943 in Mendrisio. After working as an apprentice draughtsman for the Lugano-based architect Tita Carloni, he moved first to Milan and then to Venice, where he enrolled at the department of Architecture at the IUAV. He completed his degree in 1969 with a thesis tutored by Carlo Scarpa – after having met Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn, who were later to be sources of inspiration – and returned to Switzerland to open his own professional firm, which at the time dealt mainly with detached family private homes. These included the villas in Riva San Vitale (1971-1973), Ligornetto (1975-1976) and Morbio Superiore (1982-1983), in which Botta treated the theme of the home as a refuge, which protects and reassures its inhabitants. These were buildings with a character that was ironic and, in a certain sense, monumental, obtained for example (in the case of Morbio) through rigorous symmetrical compositions and a particular use of raw concrete blocks set in a linear pattern and alternated with strips of silvered brick which, on the contrary, were set at 45 degrees. Partially dug into the hillside, the villa was also characterised by a theme which was particularly dear to Botta and which had already been explored in Riva San Vitale; the net distinction between solids and voids, the latter appearing to have been dug out of the building. Between 1980 and 1990, Botta associated with artists and intellectuals from all walks of life and took numerous long trips abroad. Together with Gabriele Basilico and Edoardo Sanguinetti, he published “La Casa Rotonda”, and he became friends with Max Huber, Nicki de Saint Phalle, Dante Isella, Harld Szeemann, Robert Frank and Alberto Flammer. In 1986, the MoMA in New York dedicated a solo exhibition to his work, and the Swiss architect received his first contracts for public buildings and from abroad, debuting with the Cultural Centre in Chambéry (1984-1987). In Japan, on a challenging triangular lot of only one hundred and sixty square metres, a space which remained from the opening of a new highway, Botta built a small building which, with its clarity and strength of image, attempted to stand out in the midst of the chaos that surrounded it, thanks to a thick masonry curtain raised on the main façade, in which slabs of grey marble are crossed with horizontal fissures which erode the angles and cancel the perception of the number of floors which make up the museum. The church of Mongo, on the other hand, was the first step in a long series of places of worship, including designs for the churches of Pordenone (1987-1992) and Sartiana (1987-1995), for the cathedral of Evry (1988-1995), for the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli on Mont Tamaro (1990-1996, for the Giovanni XXII church in Seriate (1994-2000) and for the Cymbalista synagogue in Tel Aviv (1996-1998). In each of these, light plays a predominant role as a prime generator of space and a measure for the definition of time that passes with the various phases of the day, the months and the seasons. Light is, however, the main symbolic element, representing through its variations the uneasiness of humankind in the face of divine perfection. In this same period, the scheduling for the construction of a new School of Architecture, the Mendrisio Academy, took place. Inaugurated in 1996, it offered an alternative approach to teaching in contrast to the Swiss University system, in which an important role is played by humanistic subjects and by a copious group of well-known international professors: from Rykwert to Benevolo, Burkhart, Campos Baeza, Dal Co, Frampton, Mendes da Rocha...

Set of six Dialogo chairs with structure in black lacquered wood, seat and back in leather and metal details. Designed by Tobia & Afra Scarpa and produced by B&B Italia in 1970s Th...

A very rare set of six dining chairs entirely made in curved wood, this set was designed by the Italian artist Sineo Gemignani and manufactured in Ital...

Set of six dining chairs with wooden frame, seat and back in leather designed by Ilmari Tapiovaara and produced by La Permanente Mobili Cantù in 1950s. This set of chairs presents ...

Set of six Carimate chairs with structure in black lacquered beech wood and woven straw seat, designed by Vico Magistretti and produced by Cassina in the 1960s. The Carimate chair ...

Set of six Alessia chairs with legs in tubular chromed metal and seats in white ABS, designed by Giotto Stoppino and manufactured by Driade in the 1970s. (Manufacturer's brand visi...

From the moment it was first presented at the XI Triennale in Milan in 1953, Catilina became one of Luigi Caccia Dominioni’s classics. He loved the design so much that guests in his studio would settle down by his desk to chat in these chairs. At first glance you would be forgiven for assuming this unusual object to be unfinished. Instead Caccia Dominioni created both a new chair and defined how to sit in it. Catilina is not designed for relaxation and letting go but for thoughtfulness and elegance. You could almost be transported back to ancient Rome ensconced in the seat of the Roman senator, Lucio Sergio Catilina, after whom the chair is named. In turn, the chair harks back to medieval thrones...

From the moment it was first presented at the XI Triennale in Milan in 1953, Catilina became one of Luigi Caccia Dominioni’s classics. He loved the design so much that guests in his studio would settle down by his desk to chat in these chairs. At first glance you would be forgiven for assuming this unusual object to be unfinished. Instead Caccia Dominioni created both a new chair and defined how to sit in it. Catilina is not designed for relaxation and letting go but for thoughtfulness and elegance. You could almost be transported back to ancient Rome ensconced in the seat of the Roman senator, Lucio Sergio Catilina, after whom the chair is named. In turn, the chair harks back to medieval thrones...

From the moment it was first presented at the XI Triennale in Milan in 1953, Catilina became one of Luigi Caccia Dominioni’s classics. He loved the design so much that guests in his studio would settle down by his desk to chat in these chairs. At first glance you would be forgiven for assuming this unusual object to be unfinished. Instead Caccia Dominioni created both a new chair and defined how to sit in it. Catilina is not designed for relaxation and letting go but for thoughtfulness and elegance. You could almost be transported back to ancient Rome ensconced in the seat of the Roman senator, Lucio Sergio Catilina, after whom the chair is named. In turn, the chair harks back to medieval thrones...

The greatest designers know only too well that success lies in the detail. Luigi Caccia Dominioni took a forensic interest in all his work,whether a large-scale architectural project or a piece of furniture. The ABCD armchair is the acme of design and it continues to surprise us today. Through subtle changes to Caccia Dominioni’s original concept and drawing, this very traditional reading chair has been updated to meet the needs of contemporary living. ABCD is at once classic and timeless - memorable for its fine details. It is easy to move thanks to two small wheels yet retains its stability. The back legs differ in shape to the front ones in a playful nod to the chair’s square, octagonal and circular forms that are not apparent at first glance. The upholstery studs...

Designed for the Monticello country club on the outskirts of Milan, the Toro sofa and armchair can be admired from every angle and confidently take up centre stage. Why Toro - bull in Italian? Because you can literally “take it by the horns” thanks to the metal frame emerging through the padding. The seat arms terminate in handles that allow you to move and rotate the furniture with consummate ease. The Milanese country club guests used to configure and reconfigure the seating as required, moving them closer together to converse or further apart for peace and quiet. These bulls are docile and easy to handle. More like Sitting Bull, the legendary Sioux leader who features in so many films and Italian cartoon...

Set of two Regency-style chairs by Luigi Caccia Dominioni iron frame with brass ferrules in gray velvet 1960s.