Franca Stagi (1937 – 2008), Italian industrial designer and architect

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The Architecture of Trees by Cesare Leonardi and Franca Stagi
The Architecture of Trees by Cesare Leonardi and Franca Stagi

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 joined Cesare Leonardi’s architecture firm in Modena as a partner. Their most famous piece was the 1967 Dondolo rocking chair made by Elco of Venice and 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

It was not only successful as an abstract sculpture, the Dondolo is also highly functional. It has great strength due to its pleated structure and gives good anatomical support to the whole body including the feet.

Dondolo Rocking Chair by Cesare Leonardi, Franca Stagi (1967) MoMA
Dondolo Rocking Chair by Cesare Leonardi, Franca Stagi (1967) MoMA

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.

Italian Yellow Nastro CL9 Armchairs by Cesare Leonardi e Franca Stagi, 1960
Italian Yellow Nastro CL9 Armchairs by Cesare Leonardi e Franca Stagi, 1960

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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