Poltrona Frau ─ Intelligence in Our Hands

The first major monograph on Poltrona Frau, Italy’s leading furniture designer and manufacturer, on the eve of its hundredth anniversary. Poltrona Frau is one of the leading furniture designers and manufacturers in Italy. Founded in 1912, Poltrona Frau has been refining its sophisticated expertise in handcrafted workmanship for more than a century. This prestigious illustrated monograph highlights the entire corpus of design work by this iconic brand, including all types of seating (armchairs, sofas, chairs), interior furnishings, and seating for public spaces as well as interiors for cars, yachts, and airplanes. The defining ethos and sensibility of Poltrona Frau is a story of comfort, taste, and handmade products that combine tradition with innovation. It is a journey through time via classic and iconic pieces such as the Vanity Fair armchair or the Chester couch. Included are projects by Renzo Piano, Frank O. Gehry, Norman Foster, Santiago Calatrava, Jean Nouvel, Richard Meier, Lella and Massimo Vignelli, Jean-Marie Massaud, and many others who have collaborated with Poltrona Frau in creating unique pieces that rely on Poltrona Frau’s knowledge of materials and techniques.

Based in Tolentino, Poltrona Frau is recognized for designs that blend tradition and modernity. Their interiors have graced iconic luxury brands such as Ferrari and Maserati, and in one of their more notable American commissions, Poltrona Frau designed the seating for Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. With more than fifty branded stores stretching from New York, London, and Rome to Paris and Milan, Poltrona Frau is the brand name that symbolizes the elegance of Italian design and craftsmanship. Mario Piazza is the director of Abitare.