Luigi Massoni. Coffee table for Guzzini

LUIGI MASSONI (Milan, 1929) for Guzzini.
Coffee table, 1970s.
ABS plastic.
With Guzzini label.
It shows wear and tear according to age and use.
Measurements: 63 x 64 x 64 cm.

Coffee table transportable on casters with double shelf for food storage.

Designer and architect, Luigi Massoni was trained at the Collettivo di Architettura in Milan. After his first experiences, between 1953 and 1955, he began his activity as a designer, creating for Alsessi the "Serie 5" bar set and containers, still in production today. Between 1957 and 1960, together with the architect Carlo de Carli, he contributed to the renewal of Italian design at the time, participating in various events promoted in those years, and together they also founded the magazine "Il mobile italiano". In 1959 he joined forces with a group of furniture manufacturers to create Mobilia, one of the first centers for the promotion of Italian design. That same year he joined Bofia Cucine as a designer, for which he created some of the first modular systems for the kitchen and home. Since then he has contributed, as designer and artistic director, to the reputation of many Italian and foreign industries, in a wide variety of fields. He was also editor and director of "Marmo técnica Architettura" (1956-1963) and "Forme" (from 1962). Massoni was called in the mid-sixties to collaborate with Guzzini, and designed numerous fixtures before the company's conversion to the lighting sector in 1975. He was also the first to conceive a corporate image for Guzzini, even studying the graphics of the packaging. Today Massoni's designs can be seen at the MoMA in New York and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, among others.

Harvey Guzzini is often mistakenly thought to be the name of a lighting designer of the 1960s and 1970s. In reality, the brand actually belongs to a lighting company founded by the six Guzzini brothers-Raimondo, Giovanni, Virgilio, Giuseppe, Adolfo and Giannunzio-inspired by the 1950 film Harvey, starring James Stewart. To further complicate the story, it seems that the Guzzini company changed brands several times in the 20th century, going through Harvey Creazioni, Harvey Guzzini, Guzzini, iGuzzini and Illuminazione Guzzini.