Image source: Zanotta — Tonietta
© Zanotta and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research.
Tonietta
Enzo Mari's archetypal 1985 chair, formed through aluminium die-casting research.
390 × 820 × 480 mm
1985
Official product information
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Go to the official product pageDescription
Chair 2090
Tonietta is Enzo Mari's 1985 chair for Zanotta. The frame is aluminium alloy in a polished or painted finish; the polypropylene seat and back are covered in cowhide.
Design development
The project began in 1981 and concluded in 1985 after continuing engineering research into aluminium die casting for a domestic chair. Tonietta received the Compasso d'Oro in 1987.
Official drawing
The sheet prints 39, 48 and 82 cm as its principal values. Those axes are not named on the drawing.
Story
From archetype to product
Enzo Mari wanted the simplest chair possible rather than an object defined by technological display. His account on Zanotta's page points to Thonet chairs as the modern precedent through which he developed Tonietta's character.
Four years of engineering
Zanotta dates the start of the project to 1981 and its completion to 1985. The interval was devoted to engineering aluminium die casting, a technology the company says had been used only sparingly for domestic chairs because of its cost. The finished chair won the Compasso d'Oro in 1987.