Meda 2 Office Chair by by Alberto Meda for Vitra, 1990s

Born in Como in 1945, Italian designer Alberto Meda studied mechanical engineering at the Politecnico di Milano, graduating in 1969. His pragmatic and rational training has engendered designs that are clear, precise, and functional—which has attracted commissions from a wide variety of major design brands.

From 1972 to 1979, Meda was the technical director for Kartell , where he oversaw the production of furniture collections and equipment. During these years, he had the opportunity to work alongside a number of inspiring design luminaries, including the Castiglioni brothers, Richard Sapper, and Marco Zanuso . He also befriended a number of proponents of radical design, like Franco Raggi, Daniela Puppa, and Denis Santachiara, who encouraged him to transfer his focus from production to design. Since 1979, Meda has worked as a successful freelance designer for the likes of Alfa Romeo, Alias, Alessi, Cinelli, Colombo Design, Ideal Standard, Luceplan, Legrand, Mandarina Duck, Omron Japan, Philips, Olivetti, and Vitra.

Notably, in 1994, Meda’s minimalistic design aesthetic caught the eye of Vitra CEO Rolf Fehlbaum, who commissioned Meda to design a chair—now known as the Meda Chair (1996-98). The collaboration is ongoing, and Meda has made a significant contribution to the success of Vitra's Office Collection.

Although Meda is a versatile designer who works across scales, his designs tend to share an aura of the scientific. Standout pieces by Meda include Light-Light Chair (1984-87) and Soft-Light Chair (1989) for Alias; Lola Lamp (1987) and Titania Lamp (1989) for Luceplan; Tondo Watch for Alessi (2004); Honeycomb Folding Chair for Kartell (2008); and Physix Task Chair for Vitra (2012).

Meda’s work has been exhibited in museums worldwide, including MoMA New York, Vitra Design Museum, and the  Triennale in Milan. He is the recipient of four Compasso d’Oro awards (1989, 1994, 2008, 2011); in 2005 London’s Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (RSA) named Meda an Honorary Royal Designer for Industry.

Meda lives and works in Milan.

* Images courtesy of Alberto Meda, Alias, and Kartell

Swiss founders Willi and Erika Fehlbaum launched Vitra in 1934 as a shopfitting business in the Basel region, near the border of Germany and Switzerland. During a visit to America in 1953, the Fehlbaums became enamored with the innovative designs of Charles and Ray Eames—known today for the iconic Eames Lounge Chair & Ottoman (1956). In 1957, Vitra obtained licensing rights to produce Herman Miller furniture for the European market and began to manufacture the work of Charles and Ray Eames, as well as George Nelson—famous for the Pop Art-inspired Marshmallow Sofa (1956). 

In 1967, after working closely with Danish designer Verner Panton, Vitra introduced the Panton Chair (originally conceived in 1959/60). The design was deemed a modernist landmark because it was the first wholly plastic, stackable, cantilever chair made in one piece. Vitra soon became internationally recognized as a company that collaborates with talented, progressive designers to create cutting-edge, high-quality products.

Rolf Fehlbaum (b. 1941), eldest son to Willi and Erika, became Vitra’s Chief Executive in 1977. In 1981, after a disastrous fire at the Vitra facilities in Weil am Rhein, Germany, Rolf commissioned British architect Nicholas Grimshaw to design a new manufacturing hall. More architectural commissions followed, and the Vitra Campus (as the architectural ensemble came to be known) earned acclaim for the way its high-concept, contemporary buildings integrated into the surrounding natural landscape and residential areas. Architect Frank Gehry designed the first public building, the Vitra Design Museum (1989), to house Rolf’s ever-growing collection of chairs, the largest collection in the world.  Other buildings on campus were designed by the esteemed architects Tadao Ando (Conference Pavilion, 1993), Zaha Hadid (Fire Station, 1993), Alvaro Siza (Factory Building, 1994), and Herzog & de Meuron (VitraHaus, 2010).

After thirty years, Vitra’s partnership with Herman Miller was mutually terminated in 1984. Vitra, however, acquired the design rights to pieces by Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson for Europe and the Middle East. For six decades, Vitra has been producing first-class furniture from iconic and internationally renowned designers and architects. Other famous designs in Vitra’s collection include Isamu Noguchi’s Noguchi Table (1939), Shiro Kuramata’s How High the Moon Chair (1986), Borek Sípek's Ota Otanek Chair (1988), Philippe Starck's Louis XX Stacking Chair (1992), and numerous patterns and textiles created by Alexander Girard. Vitra has also won countless design-related awards, such as the Lucky Strike Design Award in 1994, and their pieces can be found in design museums around the world, including the Tate Modern and Design Museum in London, Museum of Modern Art in New York, and, of course, Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein.

* Images courtesy of Vitra