Tacchini - T'22 Collection

Babela (Chair),

342

W 56 D 59 H 80 H seat 49 cm

Babela

There are designs which are born classics

in name only. Babela is one of those

designs and one of those names. In 1958

Achille Castiglioni designed this small

armchair to add to the furniture of the

Milan chamber of commerce. Comfort

meets form and function which is revealed

in the possibility of stacking this seat up

like a tower. Its design was simple and

archetypical, with a particular mixture of

materials, visual texture and tactile

effects.

Designed in 1958 by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for the

Milan Chamber of Commerce, Babela is an excellent example of how

practicality and aesthetics can work together in the same chair, a comfort-

able, stackable easy chair with a rigorous design perfect for the institu-

tional setting for which it was conceived. This reissue brings Babela into

contemporary spaces, transforming the original iron frame into a warmer,

more natural ash wood one.

Babela, 1958 von Achille und Pier Giacomo Castiglioni für die

Handelskammer Mailand entworfen, beweist sehr schön, dass Funktion

und Ästhetik in einem Sitzmöbel gemeinsam bestehen können:

der bequeme Sessel ist stapelbar, das rigorose Design passt genau in die

förmliche Umgebung, für die es entworfen wurde. Für die Neuauflage,

die Babela in zeitgemäße Räume führt, wurde die eiserne Struktur durch

eine warme, natürliche Basis aus Eschenholz ersetzt.

Conçue en 1958 par Achille et Pier Giacomo Castiglioni pour la

Chambre de commerce de Milan, Babela est un excellent exemple de

comment la fonctionnalité et l’esthétique peuvent coexister dans le même

siège, un petit fauteuil confortable et empilable au dessin rigoureux,

adapté au contexte institutionnel pour lequel il a été conçu. La réédition

porte Babela dans des espaces contemporains, en transformant la

structure en fer de l’original en une base en bois de frêne, plus chaud

et naturel.

Achille + Pier Giacomo Castiglioni

The Castiglioni studio was established in 1938 by

brothers Livio and Pier Giacomo, while for certain

projects, Luigi Caccia Dominioni also worked alongside

them. In 1944 Achille joined the studio: the partnership

between the three brothers continued until 1952, when

Livio set up on his own, while continuing to work with

Pier Giacomo and Achille for some special projects.

Achille and Pier Giacomo worked together without any

clear division of roles, but with equal participation, and

constant discussion and exchange of ideas. This

collaboration continued until Pier Giacomo died in 1968.

Achille continued to work in the same way as he always

had done with his brother, and indeed it is almost

impossible to detect any difference in his approach to

projects, other than the natural social and technological

changes that came about with the evolving times.

Technical information

Chair ↪ p.490