Italian industrial designer
Franca Stagi (1937 – 2008) was an Italian industrial designer and architect.
Education
In 1962, she completed her studies at the Politecnico di Milano.
Biography
In 1962, she partnered with Cesare Leonardi’s architecture firm in Modena. Their most famous piece was the 1967 Dondolo rocking chair made by Elco of Venice, which became an Italian design classic. They specialised in architecture, urban planning, and industrial design and created designs for Bernini, Biarm, and Peguri furniture and lighting for Lumenform.
Dondolo Rocking Chair
The Dondolo was not only successful as an abstract sculpture but is also highly functional. Due to its pleated structure, it is very strong and gives good anatomical support to the whole body, including the feet.
Ribbon Chair
Rubber shock mounts connect the continuous strip of moulded fibreglass, forming the sculptural seat portion to the tubular steel base. This construction allows the cantilevered CL9 an inherent degree of springiness.
Exhibitions
She exhibited her furniture in the 1968—69 International Furniture Exhibitions in Milan and Cologne and the 1970 ‘Design for Living, Italian Style’ exhibition in London. The Dondolo rocking chair debuted at the 1968 Salone del Mobile Italiano in Milan. It was featured in the Whitechapel Gallery’s 1970 “Modern Chairs 1918-1970” exhibition and the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s 1983—84 “Design Since 1945” exhibition.
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.
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