Cassina, founded by Cesare and Umberto Cassina in 1927, launched industrial design in Italy during the 50’s. In the rich and complex turmoil of that era, the company was pioneering in the way it showed a striking inclination for research and innovation, working side by side with important architects and designers with differing backgrounds and encouraging them to envision fresh designs, a characteristic that still distinguishes the company today.
Cassina has received three Compasso d’Oro prizes for individual products and in 1991 it was awarded the Compasso d’Oro award in recognition of “its innovative role and forerunning international approach within the Italian cultural and manufacturing sector”.
In 1964 the Cassina I Maestri Collection began with the acquisition of the exclusive worldwide rights to produce four models designed by Le Corbusier (who was living at the time) together with Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand. Over the following years this collection has exclusively brought together some of the most iconic furniture by the great architects of modern classics working in close collaboration with the heirs and official foundations (Gerrit T. Rietveld, Charles R. Mackintosh, E. Gunnar Asplund, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charlotte Perriand, Franco Albini and Marco Zanuso). An attentive philological reconstruction that discovers and enhances the innovative heart of each project, even in light of the most advanced technological solutions.
Today many important Italian and international designers and architects have collaborated and continue to collaborate for the Cassina I Contemporanei Collection including: Vico Magistretti, Gio Ponti, Mario Bellini, Gaetano Pesce, Rodolfo Dordoni, Jaime Hayon, Philippe Starck and Piero Lissoni.