Mesa

Origin

Mesa is a sculpted, almost primitive table by Lella and Massimo Vignelli, an icon of formal purity. A circle and a cone, two basic geometric forms, are combined into what the maker describes as a material monolith that is substantial and yet light. Their work includes graphic design, corporate image work for industry, signs and industrial design, and they design furniture, interiors and exhibition installations.

From this table Poltrona Frau draws a collection that keeps expanding. Its philological work on the original Vignelli designs produced the Mesa Due versions, and the Mesa Ellipse brings an oval format.

Design Language

The circle and the cone stay constant through the range: a slender top above a massive, conical column. The original Mesa carries a Ligurian slate top whose traditional split finish leaves the natural lines and grooves of the rock visible, above a grey Pietra Serena column in the form of a truncated cone. In Mesa Due the top can be ash, leather or marble, and the columns are clad in leather, either ColorSphere with stitching in the same tone or Saddle Extra with a contrast stitch, over a steel structure kept steady by counterweights.

Key Pieces

• Mesa round table with a Ligurian slate top on a Pietra Serena column
• Mesa Due round tables with ash, leather or marble tops, and a rectangular table with a marble top
• Mesa Due with Lazy Susan, a rotating top assembled on an aluminium mechanism
• Mesa Due Meeting Table in round, rectangular and oval versions for workspaces
• Mesa Ellipse, an elliptical marble top on a column base