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Joe Colombo's Combi Center storage unit for Bernini 1963/1997.

About the Item

Combi Center is a well-known industrial design product born from the creative genius of Joe Colombo, an Italian designer famous for his innovative design vision in the 1960s and 1970s, whose creations had the power to amaze. Combi-Center was created in 1963 and updated in 1997, with production entrusted to the historic company Bernini. Conceived by Colombo as a versatile object, Combi Center was designed as a modular storage unit for optimizing space within living interiors, a key goal of Joe Colombo's design. The underlying idea was to create a flexible system that allowed for efficient and functional organization and separation of space in the domestic environment, with the added capability of mobility (thanks to wheels at the base) to adapt to various spatial and usage needs. Combi Center was composed through the stacking of multiple differently equipped and stackable volumes: a geometric solid in the form of a cylinder with a bar element with sliding doors, a drawer element, a vertical shelving element for books, magazines, and records, and an element with sliding doors for dishes. Aesthetically, it presented itself as a very distinctive object for its time, as Joe Colombo used rosewood combined with curved aluminum, striking a perfect balance between tradition and modernity that highlighted Colombo's innovative industrial vision as early as the 1970s. A work that seamlessly blends aesthetics and technical expertise, it comes with a certificate of authenticity issued by Bernini, guaranteeing its uniqueness and historical significance. Bibliography - L'arredacasa, Ed. edizionale Domus, Year 1969 - Le fabbrieche del design, by G. Gramigna_Ed. Alberto Alessandr & C, page 55 - Year 2007 - Ottagono #30, page 89, Year 1973 - Domus, pages 30/31, Year 1966 - G. Gramigna, Repertorio del designio Italiano, vol.1, page 210, Year 2003 - I. Favata, Joe Colombo and Italian Design of the Sixties, Cambridge, page 66, Year 1988 - Joe Colombo. Inventing the Future, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, page 150, Year 2005 - Domus, March 1966, pp. 30/31 - G. Gramigna, Repertorio del design italiano, Turin 2003, vol.1, p. 210 - I. Favata, Joe Colombo and Italian Design of the Sixties, Cambridge 1988, p. 66 - Joe Colombo. Inventing the Future, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein 2005, p. 150.
  • Creator:
    Joe Colombo (Designer)
  • Design:
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 63.78 in (162 cm)Diameter: 33.47 in (85 cm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1997
  • Condition:
    In excellent condition, never used in a domestic setting and solely displayed as a showroom piece by a retailer.
  • Seller Location:
    Misinto, IT
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU9226242421962

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