The Superleggera chair

Six decades after its introduction, the Superleggera remains the epitome of simple elegance, taking the form of the traditional chair and paring it back to its essentials.

Weighing in at just 1700 grams, the Superleggera chair by legendary Italian architect and designer Gio Ponti for Cassina is celebrating its 60th anniversary with a new limited edition. Ponti (1891-1979) described it as “the chair-chair, devoid of adjectives” – the result of the designer’s strenuous research and experimentation.

Since 1957, Cassina’s workshops in Meda, Italy have produced the Superleggera out of light and stable ash wood, with the cylindrical elements of the frame paired with a triangular section. The most sophisticated modern machinery is complemented by the manual skill of craftsmen in this process. The chair is assembled in a single step – the peculiar joints that make up its innovative frame are impossible to bring together with machinery alone.

This iconic design resulted from collaboration between designer Ponti and manufacturer Cassina in the mid–1900s. Ponti’s Leggera chair was the predecessor for the Superleggera, which was the culmination of seven years of striving further for perfection. The minimalistic nature of its design led to it representing modernity in Italian design, and was a feature which Ponti explained thus: “The more minimal the shape, the more expressive the shape becomes”.

His efforts succeeded, and the chair’s accomplishments have been recognised at international establishments such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The 1954 chair that Ponti designed with Carlo de Carli, another of Cassina’s products, is also at MoMA.

Ponti is a renowned Italian architect, industrial and furniture designer whose accomplishments include architectural marvels such as the iconic Pirelli Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Italy. His industrial designs include a line of furnishings for Italy’s historic La Rinascente department stores, and his Distex, Due Foglie and unique Diamond sofa of the 1960s remain some of the most famous products Cassina has ever produced.

Dutch artist Bertjan Pot has enriched the new limited edition 699 Superleggera with a new edition of the Boxblocks fabric, a feature crafted exclusively for this year’s anniversary. This decorative touch is a breath of fresh air, and shows that even after many years, the Superleggera remains synonymous with minimalistic modern design.