Leggera Chair

Overview

The Leggera (646) is a wood chair by Gio Ponti for Cassina, offered as a chair and as an armchair. Cassina's sheet credits "Designed by Gio Ponti, 1952" and "Produced Cassina, 1952/2017"; the page header reads "Design by Gio Ponti, 2017". The frame is solid ash or American walnut, with an upholstered seat and a padded backrest made as a separate cushion with removable upholstery.

Construction

The sheet lists a solid ash or American walnut structure (finishes as per price list), a seat with elastic belts, internal padding in flexible polyurethane foam, external padding in polyurethane with light velvet, a backrest padded in contoured thermoformed polyurethane, and quilted fabric or quilted leather upholstery.

Image source: Cassina — Leggera Chair · © 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 (chair, sheet 646 3/5_03): 45 cm wide, 47 cm deep, 85 cm high; 46 cm on the side view
• Armchair (646 7/9_03): 50 cm wide, 52 cm deep, 85 cm high; 66 and 46 cm labelled on the side view
• Frame: solid ash or American walnut; page finishes: natural ash, ash stained white, ash stained natural, ash stained black, Canaletto walnut
• Upholstery: 15 fabric ranges or 4 leather ranges, with 274 named colours on the page

A joinery collaboration

Cassina's sheet says the Leggera marks one of the key points of the design and production relationship that began in the 1950s between Gio Ponti, Cesare Cassina and the company's artisans. The challenge for Cassina's carpenters was to lighten the chair frame, concentrating on its essential lines while respecting resistance and stability.

Chair and armchair

The sheet says the chair is now available in the normal version as well as the one with armrests. The page adds that the progressive paring down of the structure later gave rise to the more slender 699 Superleggera chair, and compares the lines to the traditional Chiavari chair.