agnese armchair

Gianfranco Frattini (May 15, 1926-April 6, 2004) was an Italian architect and designer. He is a member of the generation that created the Italian design movement in the late 1950s through the 1960s. Gianfranco Frattini was born in Padua, Italy on May 15, 1926. He graduated with a degree in architecture from the Politecnico di Milano in 1953. Frattini opened his own professional practice in Milan, after having worked in the office of his teacher and mentor Giò Ponti. Frattini became an industrial designer by default when he lacked appropriate lighting and furniture for his interiors. His collaboration with Cesare Cassina for his namesake company started in 1954, followed by collaborations with many other manufacturers, such as Bernini, Arteluce, Acerbis, Fantoni, Artemide (for whom among others pieces with Livio Castiglioni he designed the historic Boalum lamp), Luci, Knoll, Lema and many others. In 1956 he co-founded Associazione per il Disegno Industriale and throughout his career he practiced both industrial design and architecture, focusing mostly on interiors. He was a board member of the Triennale. Great connoisseur of wood craftsmanship, he forged a long and fruitful professional partnership with the master craftsman from Bovisio Masciago (Milan), Pierluigi Ghianda.

Giving space to ideas and quality to space: a central philosophy that Tacchini expresses not only through its products, but also throghout every aspect of the company. It's an approach embodied in the new headquarters, designed by Roberto Grossi, that lie in the countryside between Como and Milan. Set in two luminous floors of dynamic yet simple design, Tacchini's collections share the space with the firm's business development, management and production activities. The new headquarters are a confidential statement made by a brand rich in original, creative values – wich has achieved great success in Italy and abroad.