Venice, Rome, Milan, Verona... when the country itself is a work of art, creating a piece of furniture that does not meet such high standards is almost criminal! Italian brands understand this truth like no other, which is why interiors from local factories will grace not only your home but any contemporary art museum. Despite this, the post-war years were very difficult for the Italian furniture industry. The factories mainly produced interior items in a classical style, which were of little interest to the public. Additionally, Scandinavian design began to gain popularity, leading to increased imports, decreased exports, and generally a decadent vibe. But the Italians have not been able to do anything wrong for a long time - they were open to new experiments, they took risks and created a new aesthetic. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Cassina is one such remarkable brand. It is the legendary brand in the field of high-quality Italian furniture and one of the top ten designer furniture brands in the world which declared its uniqueness and excellent quality from the very beginning. The Cassina brand embodies the history of classic furniture, whose pillars are the most famous names in the world, such as Gaetano Pesce, Achille Castiglioni, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Frank Lloyd Wright. 20th century furniture from this factory has become a style icon and is produced in limited editions for the elite. Real, elegant and non-trivial. With Cassina furniture, you can't see the banality! Each piece of furniture looks like a multifunctional contemporary work of art. The factory's production combines dynamic lines, lightness and versatility. The furniture is comfortable and practical, it not only fits into the interior, but flirts with it, revealing new familiar shades to the last centimeter of the room. If you don't know the stereotypes then let me tell you that the concept of "the best furniture in Italy" - does not end with a label "made in Italy". That's why you will understand this impression - in the Cassina company catalog you will definitely find something for yourself, your home and your personal inspirations. The brand's journey The world of furniture design began like hundreds and thousands of other stories before and after them. In 1927, brothers Cesare and Umberto Cassina founded the company “Amedeo Cassina” in the town of Meda, in the province of Monza-e-Brianza. It started its journey as a run-of-the-mill carpentry shop specializing in wooden furniture - good quality, high quality, but not very interesting. In the post-war years, everything changed dramatically: the company began to cooperate with the brightest. , eminent and the best of the best designers and architects of the time. Franco Cassina continued the work of the company's founders but made some modifications and changes to the basic concept of the company based on his own ideas. It seemed incredibly boring to produce traditional home furniture, which was not distinguished by a special variety of styles and shapes compared to other furniture of that time. Therefore, he decided to modernize not only production, but also to rethink the attitude towards furniture design in general. The young and ambitious manager of Casinna believed that the future of the furniture industry lay in original, non-standard designs, which would bring a special flavor to the interior of any building. After theWorld War II, the company grew by leaps and bounds. and limits. Focusing on unique design and high-quality products, Franco Cassina was neither wrong nor mistaken, as if he had the ability to foresee the future. Cassina products finally received worldwide recognition. Cassina had started to cooperate with designers who were inspired by the innovative approach of the owners. They used exclusively high quality materials; such as high quality wood, natural leather and real stones. The company itself and its owners have always supported and worked hand in hand with the majesties and patriarchs of Italian design. The company has always supported and maintained this amazing dialogue of "triple unity" through the research, creation and improvement of new methods of mass production and innovative design of the highest level with these designers and architects. One of the first was Franco Albini. In 1948, he designed the Cassina mod.430 chair. Their strict, simple and natural forms seemed truly fresh and technologically new. With this precise name begins the list of eminent masters in the field of furniture design with whom the factory had the chance to work. At that time, designers such as Philippe Starck, Piero Lissoni, Alessandro Mendini, Gio Ponti, Vico Magistretti, Ico Parisi and many other talented artisans collaborated with the company. Another story is the collection of masters and founders of the modern design school iMaestri. . In one brand you can see that the most brilliant ideas of the designers of the 19th and 20th centuries are united: Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand, Erik Gunnar Asplund - these are not even half of the names which worked. with the legendary furniture brand. Cassina has managed to offer the world unique Italian furniture, which has become a symbol of creative research and innovative solutions, in addition to being bold and original. Since then, Cassina has expanded its production, starting to produce furniture for airliners, hotels and many other public spaces, but above all, it is oriented towards innovation and goes in the same direction as Italian design and global.The Cassina world reflects the journey of an intuitive and forward-looking company, which opened the era of industrial design in Italy in the 1950s, marking the transition from artisanal to mass production. A company that has always been able to anticipate the times with a pioneering attitude, mobilizing the most renowned designers and architects in the creation of new forms that recount the many inspirations and influences of contemporary design. Research, manual knowledge and technological development meet in the different proposals dedicated to the habitat and furnishing of large-scale architectural spaces, embracing a philosophy of passion and perfection that reveals all its excellence in the creation of designer furniture characterized by comfortable, essential elements, flexible and surprisingly innovative lines. In a continuous comparison between past, present and future, the company presents to the world the great classics of the greatest architects of the 20th century, reissuing the icons of modernity in the I Maestri and LC Collection collections, based on precision and respect for the initials of the projects. The expressions that have contributed to the evolution of design from the 1950s to today come to life in the I Contemporanei collection, in which the emblematic models of Made in Italy discover new interpretations and variations within different habitats. Finally, Cassina's experimental approach emerges, with significant planning,in the Simon collection, composed of the most emblematic objects of the relationship between culture and industry in Italian design. The innovations of Cassina furniture reflect the continuous evolution of the Made in Meda offer and are presented each year at the international IMM exhibition in Cologne and at the Milan Furniture Fair, in warm and enveloping environments in line with the image and the atmosphere of single-brand stores. The new products underline the contemporary philosophy and the sense of anticipation of a company which always looks towards the future while respecting its origins, the authenticity of the projects and the relationship with architecture, building a constant dialogue between past, present and future. Cassina designer containers, chairs, armchairs and sofas constitute elegant and versatile furnishing systems which, in addition to enriching and updating the emblematic pieces of the LC Collection and the I Maestri collection, include the modernist shapes of the Simon Collection and the extraordinary expressions of the Collection I Contemporary Collection. Among the signatures of the main representatives of international design and architecture are, among others, Patricia Urquiola - artistic director of Cassina -, Piero Lissoni, Philippe Starck, Patrick Norguet, Jaime Hayon, Patrick Jouin, Rowan and Erwan Bouroullec and Konstantin Grcic . It is a unique and diverse sequence that highlights the fundamental balance between comfort, aesthetics and functionality, as well as the indissoluble interweaving between artisanal tradition and technological progress. Design furniture that stands out and lives in the environment both individually and through easy combinations based on different decorative tastes and ever-changing lifestyles.The co-authorsIt was in 1922 that Le Corbusier opened his architectural practice rue de Sèvres, in collaboration with his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret. The deep understanding between the two leads them to carry out numerous researches, projects and achievements together. In October 1927, they decided to call on the contribution of Charlotte Perriand, a young architect who already enjoyed a certain notoriety at that time. Their association lasted until 1937 and proved extremely fruitful, particularly with regard to the realization of innovative projects, which resulted in real successes in terms of business plans. However, for the productive contribution promoted by Cassina, an interest persists both in the conceptual sphere and in the quality achieved and there is an ever-increasing expectation on each object planned by the collection.Le Corbusier (1887 - 1955) Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier, was born in La Chaux-de Fonds, Switzerland, in 1887, and died in France, in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, in 1965. Considered the man of the century for his idea of habitat, between tradition and innovative interiors and for his famous, multifaceted and diversified architectural production, Le Corbusier is an undisputed reference for international design culture. Its objective is to seek aesthetic values ​​from new materials made available by the industry. The Master takes up the challenge and applies the rationalism of architecture to furnishing. Original and lasting thinking, capable of governing the effects of modernity. His work, at the beginning, hampered by his so-called “revolution” and by the radicalism born from “purist” experiences, with the maturation of the times has had and continues to have the right recognition. In his work as an urban planner, architect and designer, his constantly evolving research method sometimes even touches the opposite extremes of an ostentatious plastic language. This is evidenced by the housing unit of Marseille (1946-52), the Notre-Dame du Haut chapel in Ronchamp (1950-55), the Dominican convent "La Tourette" in Eveux (1951-56), the Pavilionof Man in Zurich (1964-65), the Venice Hospital project (1965). The same commitment is found in the design of numerous pieces of furniture, such as the furniture for the Interior Equipment of the House (tables, chairs, armchairs, sofas) designed for the Salon d'Automne of 1928, in collaboration with Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand and Cashiers Standard", a system of container furniture designed for the Pavillon Esprit Nouveau of 1925, in collaboration with Pierre Jeanneret. Since the 1950s, Le Corbusier has focused his research on wood, a material which, after years of experimentation with the metal tube, used especially in artistic maturity in a rediscovered proximity with nature, directing production towards elementary elements and archetypal objects.Jeanneret (1886 - 1967) Graduate of the Geneva School of Fine Arts, Pierre Jeanneret was architect, designer and urban planner His name and his work are inseparable from that of the famous cousin Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier, whose associate he was from 1922 to 1940. He co-signed most of the projects and achievements prior to the Second World War. World War, including the Villa La Roche in Paris, which is currently the headquarters of the Le Corbusier Foundation, and the famous furniture "Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand". At the beginning of the 1950s, at the request of Le Corbusier, he moved to India to build the new capital of Punjab, Chandigarh and became project manager until 1966. Chandigarh became one of the main references in architecture and modern town planning. If the fame of Chandigarh bears the imprint of Le Corbusier, the qualities of this capital can be attributed as much to the genius of the latter as to that of Pierre Jeanneret.Perriand (1903 - 1999) Charlotte Perriand is a full member of this avant-garde culture which, since the first decades of the 20th century, has fostered a profound renewal of aesthetic values ​​and given birth to a truly modern sensibility in everyday life. In this context, his specific contribution focuses on interior architecture spaces, conceived as the engine of a new way of living, always at the center of contemporary lifestyle. In the field of the history of 20th century furniture, the advent of modernity is made possible by the intriguing audacity of this true reformer of interior architecture. At the start of his career, he was critically acclaimed for his Bar sous le roofs, exhibited at the Salon d'Automne in 1927, entirely constructed of nickel-plated copper and anodized aluminum. The same year, at just twenty-four years old, he began a ten-year collaboration with Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, at the famous workshop at 35, rue de Sèvres in Paris. Her presence in Le Corbusier's workshop is visible in all the furniture designed with them and Pierre Jeanneret: Charlotte Perriand becomes a cornerstone of the renovation project promoted by the architect, notably adding a dimension of humanity to the sometimes rationalism cold by Le Corbusier. In his projects, he manages to animate the fundamental objects of daily life with new aesthetic values: in particular, his talent and his intuition in the discovery and use of new materials come to manifest themselves in all their extension. The ten-year collaboration with Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret and the Japanese experience represent moments of intense creative effervescence in the artist's life. During his long stay in the Far East ('40 -'46), he was able to fully reveal his talent as an artist, through a reinterpretation of the reality of life which echoes tradition and modernity: As an example, we can cite furniture made with ancient bamboo working techniques, capable of enhancing the new forms already experimented with steel tubes.Subsequently, his professional activity focuses on a series of original and balanced productions, commissioned by leading entities and companies, such as Air France, as well as by several foreign institutions, reflecting a reputation that has now acquired an international dimension. . The figure that characterizes the personality of Charlotte Perriand is an honest loyalty to the principles of a human and innovative rationalism, which he knew how to keep intact in his works, which he worked with passion, even with the prospect of their reissue in the “Cassina Teachers” series. Cassina, today part of the Poltrona Frau group, is one of the oldest companies in Italian design, with a very special history and designers that place it among the most interesting companies for research, quality and rigor. It all started in Meda, in Brianza, in 1927 with the brothers Cesare and Umberto Cassina. We had to wait until the great crisis was over, then the war, to achieve a leap in scale and quality. The opportunity to move from the laboratory to industry presents itself with orders for the first large cruise ships. For the transatlantic Andrea Doria, (1953), the company produced 500 pieces and created magnificent environments, the first-class reading room, the library, the dining room. It was in the work of ships that Cassina met Gio Ponti, the architect who would mark the turning point of the company. His first chair, 646, or the Light, was produced in thousands of pieces for restaurants and public spaces. The product is a success. Turnovers are increasing. But Ponti is still not satisfied and Cassina puts the best local craftsmen at his disposal. Ponti works on the chair by lightening the structure to create the legendary Superleggera. It weighs 1.66 kg. And what's more, it's indestructible. That was in 1957. Since then, Cassina's rise is a well-known story that reaches today, with contemporary designers such as Mario Bellini, Andrea Branzi, Achille Castiglioni, Paolo Deganello, Rodolfo Dordoni, Vico Magistretti, Alessandro Mendini, Massimo Morozzi, Afra and Tobia Scarpa, Ettore Sottsass, to which are added other professions: Philippe Starck, Piero Lissoni, Hannes Wettstein, Jorge Pensi, Jehs + Laub, Patrick Jouin and Jean Marie Massaud, while the name of Cassina also stands out for its philological work of rediscovery and production of pieces by historical masters from Le Corbusier to Gerrit T. de Rietveld to Frank Lloyd Wright, including the Italian Franco Albini. The challenge today is to maintain quality and specificity in a period of difficult and highly competitive markets, even outside Europe. What is the point of this company closing its 2009 accounts with 101.240 million euros in turnover, a drop of 14% compared to 2008, mainly due to the crisis in the American and South American markets, then that it held up well in the markets of Asia and Oceania and experienced growth of 18% in Japan? The watchword of Gianluca Armento, director of the Cassina brand, is authenticity which refers above all to the protection of the company's identity, marked by design projects and ambitious products that have entered in the empyrean of design history: “In this year of crisis, we took the opportunity to take stock of the situation to understand the strengths and weaknesses. Our strength is authenticity." Armento explains: "Cassina has designed a new industry model, capable of bringing together very different personalities, from Gaetano Pesce to Piero Lissoni, to give an example, and bring them back to the same logic of project, whose objects belong to the same order. An order that arises from the search for quality, controls.