Armchair with Ottoman Mies Model by Archizoom Associati for Poltronova, Italy
About the Item
- Creator:Archizoom Associati (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80 cm)Width: 51.58 in (131 cm)Depth: 29.14 in (74 cm)
- Style:Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2022
- Production Type:New & Custom(Current Production)
- Estimated Production Time:4-5 weeks
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Milan, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2140323439832
Mies Lounge Chair
Created by postmodern pioneers Archizoom Associati, the Mies lounge chair is one of the most important examples of Italian Radical design, an audacious antiestablishment design movement that rejected architecture norms and the capitalist excesses that its proponents associated with modernism. Archizoom’s founding members — Andrea Branzi (1938–2023), Gilberto Corretti (b. 1941), Paolo Deganello (b. 1940) and Massimo Morozzi (1941–2014) — formed the group in 1966, and their playful, provocative chair followed three years later.
The young architects who comprised Archizoom met while studying at the University of Florence during a period of political, social and economic unrest in Italy. Like the other Italian Radical design firms of the era that were initiated by architecture students, such as Superstudio (which never actually designed a building), Archizoom was inspired by the visionary work of London architecture collective Archigram— so much so that their name directly references Zoom, a zine published by the British group.
Central to the “anti-design” ethos of the Italian Radicals was the concept that design should always be questioning itself. Archizoom and others brought new materials and a sense of irony into their works to expand the expressive potential of design. Over the eight years they were active, Archizoom’s work spanned architecture, theoretical urban design, interiors and exhibition installations. They designed a range of furniture for Poltronova, including the Superonda sofa (1966), the Safari sofa (1966–67), the Sanremo floor lamp (1968) and the Mies lounge chair (1969).
The Mies chair is a perfect encapsulation of Archizoom’s philosophy. The design emerged from the simple but subversive idea of using a strip of rubber as a seat. At first glance, the piece — the brown Pirelli rubber’s taut surface, the triangular mirrored steel frame — doesn’t really resemble a functional chair. Only when someone sits in it does the chair then assume the form of recognizable seating. But once the weight of the body is removed, the surface snaps back into place.
As a tribute to early modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who died earlier in the year of the chair’s inception, the piece cheekily questions the tendency of modern design to go a little too far in its pursuit of functionalism. The chair, which was included in the classic “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” exhibition held at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art in 1972, is still available from Poltronova. It’s paired with an illuminated footstool upholstered in pony hide, another layer of whimsy and contradiction.
Archizoom Associati
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Milan, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Patricia Urquiola Small Armchairs Model Flo for Driade, ItalyBy Driade, Patricia UrquiolaLocated in Milan, ItalyFlo armchair design by Patricia Urquiola for Driade with a painted steel structure covered in wicker in an 'aerial' version. An armchair that recalls the classic shapes of the Eames...Category
Early 2000s Italian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSteel
- Sofa Sofo Model by Superstudio for Poltronova, ItalyBy Poltronova, SuperstudioLocated in Milan, ItalySofa in polyurethane with base in molded plastic and upholstery in cotton and viscose. The Sofo is a seat to be placed in a row, like a train, or to be stacked to build solid colored mountains. It is just a block, obtained by means of an “S” cut, from a polyurethane cube, covered with a fabric crossed by two large lines. It is the result of a very simple operation, without waste, neither material nor thought. It is presented as a compact, abstract and colorful object...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
MaterialsCotton, Plastic
- Green Model Armchair by Piero Gilardi for Gugliermetto ExperienceBy Piero GilardiLocated in Milan, ItalyA green Malachite rock, which emerged from the sea after an eruption, forms a rock flower which, beaten by the waves, becomes the space to accommodate a p...Category
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsRubber, Wood
- Table Lamp Gherpe Model by Superstudio for Poltronova, ItalyBy Poltronova, SuperstudioLocated in Milan, ItalyLamp in cut and thermoformed Pespex, with plates and fittings in polished steel and knobs in turned nylon. The Gherpe lamp does not belong to the tradit...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsAluminum
- Table Lamp Passiflora Model by Superstudio for Poltronova, ItalyBy Superstudio, PoltronovaLocated in Milan, ItalyPerspex lamp and opal tube cut and glued. The Passiflora lighting fixture originates from a prototype in painted cardboard for the "Superarchitettura" exhibition [December 1966], ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsPlexiglass
- Wooden Bench Canton Model by Franco Raggi for Poltronova, ItalyBy Poltronova, Franco RaggiLocated in Milan, ItalyThe bench is in beech wood with a melemine edge and water-based paint. Canton wooden bench, designed by Franco Raggi in 1988, accompanied on the sides by two spaces, containers fo...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Benches
MaterialsBeech
- Mies Armchair with Ottoman Designed by Archizoom for Poltronova, 1960sBy Archizoom Associati, PoltronovaLocated in Parma, ITArmchair with pouf Mies design Archizoom for Poltronova 1960s. Chromed steel armchair and ottoman structure, caucciu'rubbe seat with pony headrest, pouf with lighting and pony footr...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Armchairs
MaterialsSteel
- MIES Armchair with Ottoman by Archizoom AssociatiBy Poltronova, Archizoom AssociatiLocated in Brooklyn, NYMIES armchair with ottoman (1969). Archizoom (Italy) /Poltronova. Chromed steel frame, a seat in elastic latex that forms to the weight of the body, headrest in pony-skin leather, a ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- "Mies" Lounge chair with Ottoman by Archizoom Associati, 1960sBy Archizoom AssociatiLocated in Lasne, BEMetal and camel colored leather lounge chair with cowhide cushion and luminous ottoman by Archizoom Associati. Dimensions Ottoman: H: 31 cm W: 104 cm D: 20 cm. Wear due to time and a...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Archizoom Associati for Poltrona Mies Chair and OttomanBy Poltronova, Archizoom AssociatiLocated in Los Angeles, CAArchizoom Associati for Poltrona Mies chair and ottoman. Measure: Ottoman 13" H x 8" D x 41" W.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsStainless Steel, Chrome
- Superonda sofa by Archizoom Associati for PoltronovaBy Archizoom AssociatiLocated in Chicago, ILItaly, 1967. Original red vinyl upholstery. This particular piece comes from the Walker Art Center’s 2016 exhibit, Hippie Modernism: the Struggle for Utopia. “Designed in 1967 by ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Sofas
MaterialsFoam, PVC
- Sofa Safari By Archizoom Associati for PoltronovaBy Archizoom AssociatiLocated in Brussels, BEThis very rare Safari sofa, created in 1968 by Archizoom Associati for Poltronova, it's an original condition and has a fiberglass structure. Two layers of the highest quality foam o...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Canapes
MaterialsFiberglass