Lc16 Writing Wood Desk and Shelf by Le Corbusier for Cassina

Writing desk designed by Le Corbusier in 1957. Relaunched in 2010. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. Defying the laws of physics, going beyond what we normally understand by the conditions of equilibrium, this bookcase is nothing short of a manifesto for Cassina’s design and construction capabilities. After a lengthy period of research and development, ably assisted by state-of-the-art technology, the company’s designers created a production prototype of the original 1940 piece that architect Franco Albini made as a one-off for his Milan home. Respecting the authentic underlying concept of the design, with its compelling experimental feel, as well as its surprisingly spare, linear looks, today’s model preserves the minimal ideal of the original: a feeling of air and light so that the books and objects seem to float free. Thus does Cassina restore to the contemporary world of design one of its most emblematic artefacts, a piece that has acquired the status of a work of art, as magical now as it was when it was first seen. Important information regarding images of products: Please note that some of the images show other colors and variations of the model, these images are only to present interior design proposals. The item that is selling is on the first image. Important information regarding color(s) of products: Actual colors may vary. This is due to the fact that every computer monitor, laptop, tablet and phone screen has a different capability to display colors and that everyone sees these colors differently. We try to edit our photos to show all of our products as life-like as possible, but please understand the actual color may vary slightly from your monitor About the designer: Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier, was born in La Chauxde-Fonds, in the Swiss Canton of Jura, in 1887; and died in France, in Roquebrune-CAP-Martin, on the French Côte d'Azur, in 1965. At the beginning of his career, his work was greeted with some reluctance due to its supposed "revolutionary" character and the radical aspect it acquired through his "purist" experiments; In any case, already at that time, he received the recognition he deserved and the admiration of the majority. His message is still being assimilated by an increasing number of people in the profession, but his eccentric avant-garde attitude should be properly taken into account for the use of rational systems in his planning method, as reflected in extremely simple modules and forms based on functional logic. "A functionalism that does not tend to exalt the mechanical function to the detriment of the symbolic but rather to the rejection of the symbol, which he now considers obsolete and insignificant, and the recovery of the practical function as a symbol of new values" (¹) In his activities as an urban planner, architect and designer, his method of study continued to develop, sometimes going from one extreme to another in a complex plastic language. Some examples of this are: Unité d'Habitation, Marseille (1946-52); the Chapel in Ronchamp (1950-55); the Dominican Monastery «La Tourette» (1951-56); the Zurich Center (1964-65) the Hospital in Venice (1965). The same dedication will be found in the design of diverse furniture, such as: the furniture of "Equipement intérieur de la maison" (tables, chairs, sofas and armchairs) designed for the Salon d'Automne in 1928 with Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand and “Casiers Standard”, a system of modular units designed for the Esprit Nouveau Pavilion in 1925 in collaboration with Pierre Jeanneret. Cassina re-proposes these “updated” furniture; it’s clear and essential shape is easily adaptable according to time and environment, constantly providing new meanings. (¹) G.C. Argan, Figurative Art in the Universal Encyclopedia of Art, vol. 1, col. 760 About the manufacturer: In a continuing dialogue between past, present, and future, Cassina has created the I Maestri collection, revisiting furnishing designs by the 20th century’s best-known architects, including Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, Franco Albini, Frank Lloyd Wright and Marco Zanuso. While the designs and functional concepts have been precisely preserved, the models have been manufactured using evolved technology. This is also the company that has manufactured iconic pieces of contemporary design from the 1950s to the present day, ideated by some of the most important international designers. Today Cassina continues to look to the future of design with audacious, passionate curiosity and an open, holistic approach. It affirms its exclusive ability to furnish a home’s living and dining spaces completely and iconically with The Cassina Perspective: a concept, a philosophy, an informed, futuristic thought. A detailed, expansive horizon of combinations; when placed together, the products have an innovative soul and the modern icons create authentic, welcoming, personal atmospheres involved in a conversation dominated by a code of design excellence, formal sensitive awareness, solidity and cultural authority.