Archizoom Vintage White "Superonda" Sofa, Poltronova, Italy, 1960s

For eight years, Italian architecture and design studio Archizoom Associati challenged modernism and aligned itself with what we now call Radical Design, an avant-garde art movement established largely in Florence that produced exuberant conceptual furnishings and objects that were neither practical nor very commercial. Through iconic works like the Sanremo floor lamp and the Mies lounge chair, Archizoom and other proponents of the movement protested functionalism and explored form, color and material in a way that countered the existing social order.

Founded in 1966 by University of Florence students Andrea Branzi, Gilberto Corretti, Massimo Morozzi and Paolo Deganello, Archizoom questioned mass consumerism and the validity of rapid postwar modernization in their native country. In their architecture initiatives, interiors, installations, furniture and more, Archizoom's members were pioneers of postmodernism — future Memphis Group cofounder Ettore Sottsass was also part of the Radical Design movement — and alongside likeminded collectives such as Superstudio, Ziggurat and UFO, Archizoom drew on Pop art, Minimalism and Arte Povera to expand upon the expressive potential of design. Branzi and his peers were also deeply influenced by the visionary work of London architecture collective Archigram — so much so that the group’s name is inclusive of Zoom, which is the name of a zine published by the British collective.

In Archizoom’s No-Stop City — an unbuilt architecture project — the urban area is stripped bare, a featureless monochromatic expanse that sees built structures meeting nothing more than the basic needs of human existence. The group’s Mies lounge chair — a tribute to early modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe — was developed for Poltronova and hardly resembles a chair at all. It is not until one sits down that the detached bench seat combines with the backrest and becomes a full seat. The human body bonds the pieces together to make a chair that is surprisingly functional — and even compact.

The Radical Design movement is experiencing something of a renaissance, and Archizoom Associati’s works featured prominently in 2020’s “Radical: Italian Design 1965-1985” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The collective’s designs were given a global stage in the classic 1972 exhibition “Italy : The New Domestic Landscape” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, but most of the groups associated with Radical Design dissolved by the mid-1970s. The Mies lounge chair is held in MoMA’s permanent collection. 

Find vintage Archizoom Associati seating, lighting and tables on 1stDibs.

Andrea Branzi was born in Florence in 1938 and studied as an architect at the Florence School of Architecture, receiving a degree in 1966.

From 1964–74, Branzi was a founding member of the experimental group Archizoom, which envisioned the No-Stop-City among other projects. A key member of the Studio Alchimia, founded in 1976, he went on to associate with the Memphis Group in the 1980s. Branzi lived and worked in Milan, and until 2009 he was a professor and chairman of the School of Interior Design at the Polytechnic University of Milan.

Branzi distinguished himself as a co-founder of Domus Academy, the first international post-graduate school for design. He was a three-time recipient of the Compasso d’Oro, honored for individual or group effort in 1979, 1987 and 1995. Branzi’s work was featured in the Venice Biennale and Milan Triennale, and he curated the design exhibitions of the latter. He was widely published and was frequently invited to lecture internationally. 

In 2008, Branzi was named an Honorary Royal Designer in the United Kingdom and he received an honorary degree from La Sapienza in Rome. That same year, his work was featured in an installation at the Fondation Cartier, Paris. 

Branzi’s works are held in the permanent collections of the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, among others.

Find vintage Andrea Branzi floor lamps, table lamps, armchairs and other furniture on 1stDibs. 

(Biography provided by Goldwood)