Italian office Studio Klass has designed a dining chair for the restaurant of Milan’s Triennale that evokes the style and atmosphere of the museum’s original 1930s interior.

Studio Klass was commissioned to create a chair for the refurbished Cucina Triennale restaurant, which was conceived in 1933 by architect Giovanni Muzio as part of his design for the iconic Palazzo dell’Arte building in Milan’s Parco Sempione.

Studio Klass has designed new chairs for Cucina Triennale

The space was originally furnished with custom pieces by Gigiotti Zanini, whose steel-framed table design was reissued by furniture brand UniFor and reinstated as a core element within the restaurant.

The chair was therefore required to work alongside Zanini’s tables, while utilising materials and features in ways that meet modern performance requirements.

The seats were designed to complement Gigiotti Zanini’s reissued tables

“With the Triennale chair, we sought a balance between function, elegance and memory,” explained Studio Klass co-founder Marco Maturo.

The designer described the chair as “an essential object, built around the archetype of the chair, that forgoes any decorative gesture to focus on proportion, presence and quality”.

The restaurant’s interior was revamped for Triennale Milano’s 24th International Exhibition

“It is a chair designed for everyday use – to be stacked and used – yet conceived to stand the test of time and affirm a discreet, recognisable identity,” Maturo added.

In order to avoid obvious references to the typical style of 1930s furniture, particularly some of the iconic designs featuring bent metal tubing, the chair is assembled entirely from wood.

This results in a “solid and enduring form”, according to Maturo, which is distinguished by simple, orthogonal components including the slanted rear legs.

The chair’s stackable design helps to optimise functionality and save space when used in a variety of commercial settings. Studio Klass looked to combine this practicality with a simple aesthetic to ensure universal appeal.

The design is made almost entirely from wood

“The goal was to redefine the image of the stackable chair, which is often perceived as temporary or purely utilitarian, by instead offering a sober and refined object, designed to stand the test of time,” the studio added.

The chair is manufactured in Italy by UniFor and was commissioned to mark the opening of the restaurant, which coincided with the launch of Triennale Milano’s 24th International Exhibition.

The chair was designed to be easily stacked

The 2,300-square-metre space, which opens out onto a large garden, was redeveloped under the direction of architect Luca Cipelletti following an approach that is consistent with the original 1933 design.

Triennale Milano is an institution dedicated to arts and design that organises the recurring International Exhibition as well as hosting a permanent exhibition dedicated to key works of Italian design.

The project forms part of a larger renovation led by Luca Cipelletti

The Triennale also hosts temporary design exhibitions, which in the past have included retrospectives celebrating the works of designers Alessandro Mendini and Inga Sempé, as well as a group exhibition showcasing walking sticks created by 18 leading designers.

The photography is by Alberto Strada.

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