Rare Roberto Menghi 'Hall' Lounge Chairs, Arflex , 1958, 'Compasso D'oro', 1959

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Rare Roberto Menghi 'Hall' Lounge Chairs, Arflex , 1958, 'Compasso D'oro', 1959

About the Item

Pair of rare and beautiful, original early edition 'Hall' lounge chairs, featuring the early press cast aluminium leg and armrest construction. The 'Hall' chair was designed in 1958 by architect Roberto Menghi for Arflex, Italy and was short listed for the Gold Medal, 'compasso d'oro', best new design prize at the 1959 Triennale in Milan. This beautiful design featured prominently on the cover page of both the prestigious Italian design journals 'Domus' and 'Rivista Dell Arredamento' in 1959. Menghi's 'Hall' chair was a revolutionary design for this period, these original edition chairs were extremely lightweight for their size in that they incorporated new construction techniques often associated with the aircraft industry such as the complex and super lightweight combined leg and armrest structure which were press cast in a single piece of lightweight aluminium alloy. The components of the independent seat and backrest were made from lightweight stamped flat sheet steel components welded together to form a rigid yet light structure which were inserted into the aluminium supporting structure. A later reedition replaced the high tech lightweight press cast aluminium leg structure of the early chairs with machined wood. Gio Ponti selected Menghi's high tech 'hall' chairs for the foyer of his then recently completed 'Pirelli' tower which opened in 1958. Menghi and Ponti remained good friends for the rest of their careers. Many thanks to Salvatore Licitra at the Gio Ponti archive for providing access to the original archive photos. Please see image 9 as an example. Additional archive period photos of this design placed in the interior of Ponti's Pirelli tower are available to the buyer. These rare chairs have undergone a full restoration, they were in a very poor original state when we acquired them. Please see photo 10. The upholstery has been completely renovated, these chairs were stripped right back to the bare aluminium and steel frames and painted in a satin black RAL9005 to match the original specification and have been fitted with new, original specification latex foam, new 'pirelli' rubber support webbing and then finished with high quality 'De Ploeg' fabric. This restoration has full photographic documentation which is available upon request. A rare opportunity to acquire a pair of early, original edition, aluminium frame 'Hall' chairs. LITERATURE : 'Domus', June 1959, COVER PAGE and full page article on page 25. PLEASE SEE IMAGE 2 which illustrates page 25 from this article. 'RIVISTA DELL ARREDAMENTO' ,August 1959, page 20. 'RIVISTA DELL ARREDMENTO' , November 1959, COVER PAGE and page 4. 'RIVISTA DELL ARREDAMENTO', April 1960, COVER PAGE and page 50. 'Arflex '51-81' , page 24, Daniele Baroni, A.Lucini & C, Milano, 1981. please see image 8. (Illustrates 'Hall' lounge chairs and sofa at the 1959 Triennale in Milan and also illustrates an original technical drawing of the highly original and avant garde presscast aluminium combined leg and armrest structure confirming the construction materials and techniques. 'REPERTORIO 1950-80', pg 119 Gramigna, Mondadori ,1985 (confirms this design was short listed for the Gold Medal 'compasso d'oro' design prize at the 1959 Triennale in Milano.

Creator:
Roberto Menghi (Designer)
Dimensions:
Height: 32.29 in (82 cm)Width: 38.59 in (98 cm)Depth: 33.86 in (86 cm)Seat Height: 14.97 in (38 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 2
Style:
Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Aluminum,Rubber,Steel,Upholstery,Cast
Place of Origin:
Italy
Period:
1950-1959
Date of Manufacture:
1958
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. These chairs have been sympathetically restored, stripping them right back to the bare steel and aluminum frames paint job with satin black, refinishing with new original specification latex foam, new rubber support webbing and new 'De Ploeg' fabric.
Seller Location:
bergen op zoom, NL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU93019636681