For Gio Ponti, the perfect house was one that “stops you in your tracks at the threshold.” A master of architecture and interior design, his eponymous “Ponti lifestyle” has come to define sophisticated, Italian-style luxury.
No examples better illustrate his influence than two pieces currently available,
one launched just this year at the Salone del Mobile Milano, and the other an iconic bestseller of Casa Design Group’s showroom, with roots dating back to Ponti’s 1952-53 work in Caracas, Venezuela.
The new D.859.1 table embodies the values Ponti trailblazed: modernity, sophistication, economy, and democracy. In spite of its impressive size (it can seat up to ten), it is simple and refined, almost aerodynamic in its sleekness. Originally made of solid ash with bronze ferrules, the table is now available in darker woods, such as Black Stained Ash, as well as two smaller versions that faithfully reproduce the harmony and proportions of the original.
Where the D.859.1 tableis all polished strength, another Ponti design, the D.154.2 armchair, is all about insulated comfort. The 2016 winner of the prestigious Wallpaper Design Awards and a Molteni&C icon, this armchair was designed for one of the projects closest to Ponti’s heart, the villa of the Planchart collectors in Caracas, and reflects ideas the artist gathered during his trips to Latin America in the early 1950’s. Like a cozy shell, the chair consists of a rigid polyurethane frame, a soft polyurethane counter-frame, and a cushion, all upholstered in Molteni&C textiles, with the option of contrasting upholstery on the three components.
For Ponti, home was a gathering place for artists and thinkers, a beautiful space arranged for maximum ease and sociability. Whether it is a table created to elevate and inspire a gathering or an armchair designed to cushion and cocoon, Ponti’s elegant visions continue to define the idea of a luxurious, modern lifestyle.
Gio Ponti.
