Esosoft Bench by Antonio Citterio for Cassina

Born in 1950 in Meda, Italian designer-architect Antonio Citterio is admired for his multifaceted furniture designs, which span bold-colored plastic storage solutions for Kartell to luxury seating designs for B&B Italia and Maxalto.

Citterio opened his own studio in 1972, three years before he graduated from Milan’s Polytechnic School of Architecture. Since then, he has collaborated with major European design houses including Ansorg, Arclinea, Axor-Hansgrohe, B&B Italia, Flexform, Flos, Hermès, Iittala, Kartell, Sanitec Group, Technogym, Tre Più, and Vitra.

Citterio’s most notable furniture designs include the Sity Sofa (1986) for B&B Italia, which was awarded a Compasso d’Oro the following year; the extendable Battista Table (1991), Oxo Trolley (1992), and Mobil Container System (1993, Compasso d’Oro in 1994), all for Kartell, T-Chair (1996) for Vitra, Dolly Chair (1996) for Kartell, and the Luta and Ac Chairs (2006 and 2009) for B&B Italia. Since 1993, Antonio has worked as Head of Design at Maxalto, a subsidiary brand of B&B.

Between 1987 and 1996, he worked on many architectural projects in Europe and Japan with American architect Terry Dwan. Projects from this time include the redesign of a block in the historical center of Seregno, Italy (1987); the Esprit headquarters in Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Milan (1987); and industrial plants for Vitra in Germany (1992-2009) and Antonio Fusco in Milan (1993).

In 1999, he co-founded the architecture and design firm Antonio Citterio & Partners with Italian architect Patricia Viel (b. 1962). The firm—which was renamed Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and Partners in 2009—specialises in the design of residential, commercial, hotel, office, and public spaces. Today, it remains the largest architectural firm in Italy, with an annual revenue of over 10 million euro. Notable projects include the premium passenger lounge at Qatar airport, Bulgari Hotels in Milan (2004), Bali (2006), and London (2012), Brooktorkai residential units and offices in Hamburg (2010), and the NOVE office building in Munich (2013-16).

Since 2006, Citterio has lectured in the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio at the University of Lugano. Notably, Citterio has been the subject of three published biographies, Antonio Citterio Industrial Design (2004), Antonio Citterio (2005), and Antonio Citterio: Architettura e Design (2007). In 2008, he was honored by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacture & Commerce of London, earning the prestigious title ‘Royal Designer for Industry’.

His Mobil Container System is part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, as is the Battista Table, Oxo Trolley, and Dolly Chair.

Italian furniture manufacturing giant Cassina, originally named Amedeo Cassina, was founded by brothers Cesare (1909-1979) and Umberto (1910-1992) Cassina in Meda, Italy in 1927. Although initially specialized in bespoke woodworking and high-end interiors, by the 1950s the brothers took the company in a new direction, anticipating the growing demand for mass-produced home furnishings. Cassina is often credited with introducing industrial design to Italy and has built an international reputation for collaborating with some of the world’s most respected designers.

Notably, in 1964 (while famed architect Le Corbusier was still alive), Cassina signed the first exclusive licensing agreement covering the edition rights for designs by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand. The company soon after launched the I Maestri Collection which over the decades has gathered major icons of design under the Cassina brand, such as the LC4 Lounge (1928) jointly designed by Le Corbusier, Jeanneret, and Perriand, as well as Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld’s 635 Red & Blue Armchair (1918), Scottish architect-designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Hill House Chair (1902), and many more.

With a focus more on partnering with the best designers rather than creating and maintaining a particular style, Cassina is responsible for some of the most recognized and beloved designs of the 20^th and 21^st centuries. Highlights include Italian architect-designer Gio Ponti’s Superleggera Chair (1957), German designer Konstantin Grcic’s Kanu Chair (2009), Iranian-British architect Zaha Hadid’s Zephyr Sofa (2013), and French designer Philippe Starck’s My World Sofa (2013).  Throughout its visionary collaborations with both design luminaries and cutting-edge experiments with new talents, Cassina has remained dedicated to the Italian design ideals of craftsmanship and quality, and the brand continues to excel in the fusion of industrial technology and artisanal production.

Cassina’s designs are included in permanent collections the world over, such as the Museum of Modern Art (New York), Vitra Design Museum (Weil am Rhein) and London Design Museum.

Cassina is now a part of the prestigious Poltrona Frau Group.

* All images courtesy of Cassina.