699 Superleggera

Overview

The 699 Superleggera is a solid-ash chair by Gio Ponti. The sheet carries "Designed by Gio Ponti, 1957" and describes an extra-light chair with legs of triangle-shaped cross-section of just 18 millimetres, a total weight of 1,700 grams, and a seat frame in beech. It is made with an Indian cane seat or with an upholstered seat.

Construction

The sheet says the wood parts are made by machine and hand-finished, with glue applied with a brush, the excess wiped off and the seat hand-woven. The cane version has an acrylic natural or matt black / matt white lacquered ash frame; the upholstered version has a phenolic birch plywood seat shell with polyurethane and polyester padding.

Image source: Cassina — 699 Superleggera · © Cassina and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research. · View official product page ↗ · Image use & copyright policy

Specifications

• Dimensions: 41 cm wide, 45 cm deep, 83 cm high
• Frame: solid ash
• Seat: Indian cane, or upholstered on a birch plywood shell
• Weight: 1,700 grams (sheet)

An extra-light chair

Cassina's sheet presents the 699 Superleggera as a highlight of its catalogue since 1957 and the outcome of the creative imagination of the architect Gio Ponti and Cassina's manufacturing excellence. Making an extra-light chair was the challenge, met with 18 mm triangular legs and the lightness and flexibility of ashwood.

Chiavari tradition

The sheet describes the chair as a "prime object" informed by the chair-making traditions of Chiavari, in Liguria, northern Italy, where crafts expertise and industrial innovation come together.