Mario Botta Obliqua Armchair in Wood and Animalier Fabric Alias, 1983

Set of six 605 Quinta chairs with a black steel rod frame seat and back in bent perforated sheet metal. Designed by Mario Botta for Alias in 1985 (This chair is no longer in production). The Quinta chair it's an architecture you can sit on, this design clearly shows the inspiration of iconic designer as Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, and Carlo Scarpa, an exemplary of this iconic chair is also exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art. Mario Botta was born in 1943 in Mendrisio. After working as an apprentice draughtsman for the Lugano-based architect Tita Carloni, he moved first to Milan and then to Venice, where he enrolled at the department of Architecture at the IUAV. He completed his degree in 1969 with a thesis tutored by Carlo Scarpa – after having met Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn, who were later to be sources of inspiration – and returned to Switzerland to open his own professional firm, which at the time dealt mainly with detached family private homes. These included the villas in Riva San Vitale (1971-1973), Ligornetto (1975-1976) and Morbio Superiore (1982-1983), in which Botta treated the theme of the home as a refuge, which protects and reassures its inhabitants. These were buildings with a character that was ironic and, in a certain sense, monumental, obtained for example (in the case of Morbio) through rigorous symmetrical compositions and a particular use of raw concrete blocks set in a linear pattern and alternated with strips of silvered brick which, on the contrary, were set at 45 degrees. Partially dug into the hillside, the villa was also characterised by a theme which was particularly dear to Botta and which had already been explored in Riva San Vitale; the net distinction between solids and voids, the latter appearing to have been dug out of the building. Between 1980 and 1990, Botta associated with artists and intellectuals from all walks of life and took numerous long trips abroad. Together with Gabriele Basilico and Edoardo Sanguinetti, he published “La Casa Rotonda”, and he became friends with Max Huber, Nicki de Saint Phalle, Dante Isella, Harld Szeemann, Robert Frank and Alberto Flammer. In 1986, the MoMA in New York dedicated a solo exhibition to his work, and the Swiss architect received his first contracts for public buildings and from abroad, debuting with the Cultural Centre in Chambéry (1984-1987). In Japan, on a challenging triangular lot of only one hundred and sixty square metres, a space which remained from the opening of a new highway, Botta built a small building which, with its clarity and strength of image, attempted to stand out in the midst of the chaos that surrounded it, thanks to a thick masonry curtain raised on the main façade, in which slabs of grey marble are crossed with horizontal fissures which erode the angles and cancel the perception of the number of floors which make up the museum. The church of Mongo, on the other hand, was the first step in a long series of places of worship, including designs for the churches of Pordenone (1987-1992) and Sartiana (1987-1995), for the cathedral of Evry (1988-1995), for the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli on Mont Tamaro (1990-1996, for the Giovanni XXII church in Seriate (1994-2000) and for the Cymbalista synagogue in Tel Aviv (1996-1998). In each of these, light plays a predominant role as a prime generator of space and a measure for the definition of time that passes with the various phases of the day, the months and the seasons. Light is, however, the main symbolic element, representing through its variations the uneasiness of humankind in the face of divine perfection. In this same period, the scheduling for the construction of a new School of Architecture, the Mendrisio Academy, took place. Inaugurated in 1996, it offered an alternative approach to teaching in contrast to the Swiss University system, in which an important role is played by humanistic subjects and by a copious group of well-known international professors: from Rykwert to Benevolo, Burkhart, Campos Baeza, Dal Co, Frampton, Mendes da Rocha...

Shogun floor lamp with black and white lacquered metal stem, adjustable diffuser in painted perforated plate steel, and a base in cast iron designed by Mario Botta in 1986 and produc...

Two-seater Califfo sofa with a structure in a orange/red lacquered wood seat and back are structured by cushions upholstered with velvet fabric in a mixed...

Bocca or Marilyn sofa with structure in expanded polyurethane foam covered with red fabric, the cover is completely removable. This sofa was designed by Studio 65 and produced by Guf...

Camaleonda modular sofa with structure in polyurethane foam padded and upholstered with a dark brown velvet. This set is composed by two large modules and two small modules which cou...

Sofa model Shark with a structure in chromed metal, wood, chromed backrest, and ground support, padding in polyurethane foam covered with dark brown fabric. Designed by Francesco Bi...

The Elusive "Obliqua" Lounge Chair designed by Mario Botta for Alias Italy 1983. Formed to represent an inclined plane in space, ready to envelop the curious observer yet still maintaining an independent existence. The seating area has an ingenious design that inclines when applying pressure which makes it extremely comfortable as well. Fabric is original and shows wear, patina as pictured. Seating mechanism is in excellent condition. This rare fabric...

Mario Botta for Alias, sofa, model ´Obliqua´, fabric, black lacquered wood, Italy, circa 1983. 'Obliqua' sofa designed by Mario Botta for Italian manufacturer Alias in the 1980s. ...

Mario Botta for Alias, pair of sofas, model ´Obliqua´, fabric, black lacquered wood, Italy, circa 1983. Bold pair of 'Obliqua' sofas designed by Mario Botta for Alias. Upholstered ...

Italian modern black metal sofa Re e Regina by Mario Botta for Alias, 1985 Sofa mod. King and Queen two seater. The structure is entirely in perforate...

Pair of Quinta chairs with chrome frame and black steel seat and back by Mario Botta for Alias, 1980s.

Quinta, a chair with a legacy dating back to its creation in 1985, is not your ordinary seat; it embodies a fusion of comfort and architectural sophistication. Designed under the inf...