MANZÙ Collection

Pio Manzù, 2011

The meeting with the Pio Manzù Foundation in 2011 led Alias to produce a historic project by the brilliant protagonist of Italian car design in the 1960s.
The focus is on the prototype of a seat designed for La Rinascente with a clear automotive derivation. However, the base, created at the time by a Japanese artist, is missing, of which only a photograph remains.
Through passionate research and reconstruction work, the new edition took shape and came to fruition. MANZÙ is an armchair composed of a supporting shell in compact polyurethane moulded with polyurethane foam and a cast aluminium base. To complete the project, Alias designed a footrest entirely consistent with the design and proportions of the armchair.

MANZÙ
About

An operation of design culture, through which Alias discovered deep affinity with the figure of Pio Manzù, one of the first to view the man-machine relationship in terms of safety and well-being, beyond pure functionality. A true pioneer of ergonomics, thanks to his design rigour and mastery of technology.

MANZÙ products

Manzù pouf
Manzù lounge

Pio Manzù

(1939-1969) Son of the sculptor Giacomo Manzù, he graduated from the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm. In 1967 he became consultant at Fiat, for which he designed the City Taxi, the Autobianchi Coupé and the Fiat 127. He devoted himself to the design of objects such as Cronotime, produced by Ritz Italora, the Parentesi lamp for Flos, the Portaoggetti desk holder for Kartell. The “poltrona fisiologica”, designed in 1967 for La Rinascente, the one-leg table, designed for Agnelli's home in Rome, were respectively produced by Alias in 2011 and 2018. Pio Manzù was a true pioneer of ergonomics through rigorous design and mastery of technology.

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