Image source: Poltrona Frau — Downtown
© Poltrona Frau and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research.
Collection Story
Origin
Downtown is Jean-Marie Massaud's office chair collection for Poltrona Frau, which the page presents as a range with many models for different tastes and needs, in which craftsmanship, shapes and materials give an intimate, personal elegance, and the workspace turns into a landscape to live and dwell in.
Office chairs
Poltrona Frau dates the office chairs to 2014. Their sheet opens with "Proficient, elegant, and timeless" and describes a desk armchair dedicated to demanding decision-makers. It covers President, Executive, Managerial, Meeting and Visitor, the models that the Downtown Office Chair and Downtown Visitor articles describe.
Conference chairs
Poltrona Frau's conference sheet, headed 2016/2023, says the collection became more complete and versatile with four new conference armchairs: a swivel armchair on a four-spoke base, a cantilever armchair, a bridge armchair, and a swivel armchair on a five-spoke base with castors. All four share one padding, differentiated-density polyurethane foam with a polyester wadding quilt, and the same leather and fabric choices, which the sheet marks as not removable.
Image source: Poltrona Frau — Downtown · © Poltrona Frau and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research. · View official website ↗ · Image use & copyright policy
Downtown Lounge
Downtown Lounge, dated 2025 on its sheet, is the evolution of the office chair as an armchair with an ottoman, now also on a wooden base. The sheet presents it for public settings, waiting areas and workspaces as well as for residential spaces.
Key Pieces
- Downtown Conference 360 chair, swivel 4 spokes, cantilever and bridge
- Downtown Lounge armchair and ottoman
- Downtown Office chair and Downtown Visitor armchair
Pieces in this collection
Downtown Conference 360 Chair
Jean-Marie Massaud's Downtown Conference 360 chair: swivel armchair on five spokes with castors.
Downtown Lounge Armchair
Jean-Marie Massaud's Downtown Lounge: a slightly reclined armchair with headrest cushion.
Downtown Conference Swivel 4 Spokes
Jean-Marie Massaud's Downtown Conference swivel chair on four spokes, with a return mechanism.
Downtown Visitor Chair
Jean-Marie Massaud's Downtown Visitor armchair on a four-spoke base with return rotation.
Downtown Lounge Ottoman
The Downtown Lounge ottoman by Jean-Marie Massaud, on a fixed wood or metal base.
Downtown Conference Bridge Chair
Massaud's Downtown Conference Bridge armchair, on one-way castors with visible metal plates.
Downtown Conference Cantilever Chair
Jean-Marie Massaud's Downtown Conference armchair on a steel cantilever base.
Downtown Office Chair
Jean-Marie Massaud's Downtown desk armchair in four models on a five-spoke castor base.
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