In collaboration with the Gio Ponti Archives and the heirs of the renowned Milanese architect, Molteni&C is reconstructing one of the rare pieces of furniture Gio Ponti designed for outdoor use: the D.150.5 chaise longue projects for the cruise ship Andrea Doria in 1952.
This edition is a tribute to Ponti's work for the Andrea Doria, where he was able to create exceptional environments with his multifaceted creativity. The chaise longue, "dreamed up" and designed by Ponti, is an important exponent of this representation, which anticipates, by seizing the opportunity of the ship's unconventional environments, precisely the continuous and modifiable spaces of his architecture of later years, where the furnishings participate in the domestic theatre without constructing fixed sets, as could be the case for living room or bedroom furniture, but rather responding to and representing in their design the comforts and needs of those who would use them.
A synthesis of values that resolves itself into an aesthetic, as Ponti teaches.
The contours of our chaise longue are characterised by two distinctive features: the first is the continuous line of the side design that unites the different parts (backrest, seat, armrest, footrest) in a single stroke, marking the elongated profile of the armchair in accordance with the Pontian principle.
The second detail is the radius of the angle between the seat and the backrest, which is identical to that of Ponti's precisely stated in the construction notes of the '53 Distex now issued by Molteni&C as D.153.1. The use of solid teak highlights the production merits of high quality cabinet making.
With the Heritage collection, Molteni&C retraces its history with an eye to the future. The 80!Molteni exhibition, the creation of the historical archive and the birth of the Molteni Museum were an opportunity to start again from the beginning, from the origin of modernity.
Thus traces of a past that proves to be contemporary emerged, to be re-proposed today. New, great classics, unique pieces to be brought to life outside the museum showcases, inside homes.
