When Lapalma asked Gabriele Pezzini to design the ‘Linea’
chair, they instructed him to produce an essential and
archetypal seat that would make the best possible use of
square section tubular metal and multiply – simple
materials that are part and parcel of the Italian maker’s
repertoire. It was not an easy task, and called for a lot of
experimentation to find the right mix between light weight
structure, comfort and visual resolution.
The search for formal continuity between the two materials
was axiomatic. As the designer remarks: ‘Integrating the
basic components – structure-seat-back – in three
dimensions, to obtain the final result, was laborious’. In
fact, the architectonic resolution of the structure enables
the back to be suspended, which means a gain in lightness
while retaining reassuring features like stability and
resistance. Function, comfort, light weight and stackability
were all specifications, but they were not limits; true to his
manner, Pezzini uses constraints. ‘They are elements that
play a fundamental role in the formal definition of the
product’.
