Design decoded Gianfranco Frattini’s iconic rotating bookshelf for Poltrona Frau
The remaking of this Italian classic – a freestanding, rotating, fully adjustable storage unit
Italian architect Gianfranco Frattini, who joined the great Gio Ponti’s studio in 1953, having graduated from Milan Polytechnic, was known for his love of wood. Going on to establish his own design studio and becoming one of the founders of the ADI (Association of Industrial Design) in 1956, he created furniture for Cassina, Arteluce, Knoll and Artemide – the 1969 ‘Boalum’ floor light that he designed with Achille Castiglioni is a highlight. It was probably his working relationship with cabinet-maker Pierluigi Ghianda from Bovisio Masciago, a region close to Milan known for its furniture
THIS PIECE STOOD OUT FOR ITS SCULPTURAL QUALITY, INVITING IT TO BE PLACED IN THE CENTRE OF A ROOM
expertise and production, that proved most fruitful,particularlywhenitcametodesigning in timber. With Ghianda, Frattini learned the craft of manufacturing, leading him to createthe ‘Rotating Bookcase with Extensible Uprights’ as it was originally known.
Designed in the late 1950s in the NeoLiberty style – a design movement meant as the antidote to Modernism – it won third prize at the Selettiva design competition in 1959. Floor-to-ceiling shelving was popular in that era, but this model stood out for its sculptural quality and ability to rotate, inviting it to be placed as either a room’s centrepiece or in a corner. These were reasons enough for Poltrona Frau to buy the rights to reissue it in 2014 as part of its ‘Icons’ collection.
HandcraftedattheTolentinoheadquarters, the bookshelf was renamed ‘Albero’, which translates as ‘tree’ – a pertinent name for its elongated, trunk-like form. A supporting frame of four vertical pillars is made from solidCanalettowalnut,thecentralrack,pinion jointandshelvesarealsoencasedinaCanaletto veneer, while neat iron caps on the ceiling and ground–supportingandsecuringthestructure –arecoveredwithanon-sliprubberfoot.True to the original, a 360-degree swivel axis mechanismallowsfullrotationwithanoption for between eight to 12 shelves. From £12,240. poltronafrau.com