Lierna Chair

Lierna is a chair designed by Italian designers Achille Castiglioni and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni in 1959 at Lierna,Società Archeologica Comense - Società Archeologica Comense Rivista della Società Archeologica Comense, 1876Corriere Como  Corriere di Como, Design. The Milan Furniture Fair is the occasion to recall historic furniture pieces connected to our territory. When the Lario becomes a chair made for Cassina.

Description
The Lierna chair, named in honor of the town on Lake Como, features a lacquered solid wood frame and a padded seat upholstered in leather or fabric, and is considered a historic piece of Italian design. Despite being made of solid wood, the chair is very lightweight.Quoted in Renzo Orsini, Dino Gavina: ultrarazionale, ultramobile, page 164, 1998 ISBN 88-7794-137-5

The design of the Lierna chair is very clean and pragmatic,Achille Castiglioni (1918-2002) - Sergio Polano, Achille Castiglioni - Google Books Achille Castiglioni (1918-2002), Sergio Polano, Achille Castiglioni, Electa, 2006 reflecting on traditional models, following the path also explored by Giò Ponti. One of the key studies leading to the creation of this chair was ergonomics. The Castiglioni brothers commented on the Lierna chair: “It is a chair specifically designed as a seat to be placed at the dining table. Therefore, it has a rather high backrest that shields the diner’s shoulders, narrow to facilitate the movements of those serving the meal, and well suited to the composed posture of seated people. The chair was designed by us for Cassina, and we focused on a lightweight chair with essential section joints…”FONDAZIONE ACHILLE CASTIGLIONI Fondazione Achille Castiglioni, "Lierna, 1960", 201

Production
The original version was produced by Cassina until 1960, after which production moved to Gavina. It is now a frequent item at international auctions, and a re-edition was recently produced in collaboration with the Castiglioni Foundation. The chair, with a curved backrest, was conceived in the 1950s as an innovative solution for new ways of sitting.  Elle Decor, April 2014

It was inspired by a later variant of the original "La Lierna" chair, the "La Irma" chair (Zanotta, 1979), where Achille Castiglioni maintained the same concept but replaced wood with steel tubing. The Lierna chair also inspired Giorgio Cattelan’s "La Lara".

The Castiglioni Method
The Lierna chair was designed by Achille Castiglioni and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni in Lierna on the shores of Lake Como, applying the innovative Castiglioni Method created by Giannino Castiglioni.

Giannino Castiglioni, father of Achille Castiglioni, Pier Giacomo Castiglioni and Livio Castiglioni, was a master and founder of Italian design, and with his children helped define the concept of Made in Italy recognized internationally. Some of the family’s works are exhibited at the MoMA in New York.

 References 

Category:Chairs
Category:Italian furniture
Category:Mid-century modern furniture
Category:Designs by Achille Castiglioni
Category:Designs by Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
Category:Products introduced in 1959
Category:Lierna
Category:Lake Como