en.wikipedia.orgImage source: Mario Bellini
© The respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research.
Designer
Mario Bellini
Mario Bellini (born 1 February 1935) is an Italian architect and designer. He graduated from the Politecnico di Milano in 1959 and built a career spanning architecture, exhibition design, product design and furniture during Italy's…
Biography
Background
Mario Bellini (born 1 February 1935) is an Italian architect and designer. He graduated from the Politecnico di Milano in 1959 and built a career spanning architecture, exhibition design, product design and furniture during Italy's economic boom.
Signature Style
From 1963 Bellini was a consultant to Olivetti, shaping machines such as the Programma 101, the Divisumma 28 calculator and the Praxis 35 typewriter. His furniture shares the same sculptural, tactile thinking — soft modular volumes and leather used as structure.
Notable Works
- Cab chair for Cassina (1977), the first chair with a free-standing leather structure
- Camaleonda modular sofa for B&B Italia, shown at MoMA in 1972
- Olivetti Programma 101 and TCV 250 terminal
- Architecture: Villa Erba in Cernobbio, NGV International in Melbourne, the Louvre's Department of Islamic Art (with Rudy Ricciotti)
Legacy
Winner of eight Compasso d'Oro awards and the Triennale di Milano's Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement, Bellini has 25 works in MoMA's permanent collection; MoMA held a retrospective of his career in 1987. He edited Domus from 1985 to 1991.
Specifying pieces from Mario Bellini for your design project?
INTEBEE is the FF&E specification platform for interior designers: spec sheets, finishes, floor plans and client-ready PDFs in one place.
Collections
Products
Amanta Armchair
Single-module lounge chair by Mario Bellini, a 1966 design reissued by HAY, in five shell colours
Le Bambole x Stella McCartney
Bellini's Le Bambole sofa in Stella McCartney's Fungi Forest print, built to be disassembled.
Baby Cab Chair
Small saddle-leather chair, a scale reduction of Mario Bellini's Cab (1977), by Cassina.
Cab Tab Table
Saddle-leather table by Mario Bellini with a marble or wood top, four sizes; Cassina.
Camaleonda x Stella McCartney
Mario Bellini's Camaleonda sofa system in a special edition with Stella McCartney's S-Wave fabric.
Cab Night Bed
Leather bed with saddle stitching and an upholstered or wall-fixed headboard, by Mario Bellini.
Camaleonda Modular Sofa
Mario Bellini's modular capitonné sofa, 2020 version, with a layered interior that comes apart
Bamboletto
An upholstered bed with generous shapes and a cushion at the headboard.
Le Mura
Mario Bellini's modular system, a 1970s radical-design manifesto reissued by Tacchini.
La Bambola Outdoor
A 2024 outdoor interpretation of Mario Bellini's soft, curved La Bambola armchair.
Softcage Armchair Outdoor
A 2024 outdoor armchair with a rattan cage frame of 45 mm sections and 18 mm rods
684 Armchair
Soft upholstered armchair by Mario Bellini, 1973, with optional casters; Cassina.
