Since making its debut in the outdoor furniture sector in 2020, Cassina has never ceased to surprise us with settings that mingle with the open sky, in an approach of harmony and simplicity. Colors, nuances, tactile sensations, soft lines: a seamless dialogue is established between design and nature, satisfying the senses and stimulating wellbeing. Through the project “The Cassina Perspective Goes Outdoor” the open-air collections of the brand seem to become a perfect bridge connecting architecture and the panorama, between indoors and outdoors: the horizon expands and the spaces of the home are dilated. Eclectic and composite compositions, for lounge, dining and relax areas, find a place on terraces or by the pool, thanks to materials chosen to ensure durability and enveloping comfort, generating intimate outdoor refuges.
The company’s creative spirit lives up to its past, enhanced and left free to reveal its quality in a new context en plein air: outstanding signatures like Patricia Urquiola, Rodolfo Dordoni, Patrick Jouin, Philippe Starck bring their imaginative touch to new offerings, alongside novel reinterpretations of the great design masters, as seen in the iMaestri collection.
3 Fauteuil Grand Confort, grand modèle, trois places, Outdoor by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand
Collezione Cassina iMaestri – Cassina Outdoor – Photo © De Pasquale + Maffini
Leggera Outdoor by Cassina, Design Gio Ponti – Photo © Valentina Sommariva
This is what happens in the case of the iconic Leggera by Gio Ponti, “a simple wooden chair with a polite, clear, cultured form” designed for Cassina in 1952. Originally in ash wood with cording of natural paper, the model has been developed for outdoor use, leaving its aesthetic charm intact while increasing – if that is possible – its design appeal. Cassina, in fact, has drawn on the automotive world to recreate the legendary lightness of the chair.
Replacing the wood with austenitic stainless steel, Cassina has then applied a technique utilized to make parts for Formula One racers, hydroforming, making it possible to precisely replicate the form of the original seat. Unlike traditional molding methods, this technology expands the slender curved steel tube from inside to outside; in a series of painstaking steps, each tube is inserted in a closed mold, where thanks to the pressure exerted by a liquid inside, the metal is shaped, filling out the form. The single components are then carefully welded, a particularly delicate phase given the limited thickness of the parts.
The result is Leggera Outdoor, in three colors – ivory, mud and green – available both in woven cord and in a version with independent padded cushions for the seat and back. The extremely contemporary character emerges thanks to the work conducted by Cassina LAB, making this model completely ready for disassembly and entirely recyclable in all its parts, confirming Cassina’s total focus on environmental sustainability.
