Paolo Parigi ‘canasta’ office sofa for Heron Parigi

Paolo Parigi was born in 1936 in Borgo San Lorenzo (Florence) into a family of iron craftsmen. Since childhood he has shown an uncommon aptitude for drawing and manual activities. In 1955 he graduated in agricultural sciences at the Salesian Institute in his country. In 1956 he enrolled in the first course for poster and advertising graphic designers at the “Scuola Leonetto Cappiello” in Florence. In the same year he graduated and then opened his own graphic studio in Florence. Some successful brands were born there – just remember the advertising campaign and the MUKKI brand for the Central dairy of Florence. At the same time he joined his father’s activity in the workshop, he began to train as a technical draftsman and designed a series of furniture objects with iron structure: armchairs and tables, produced in his father’s workshop and never marketed. In 1964 Paolo designed and built for himself a drafting table. This product, which will later be called “heron”, is a table with a central leg, with lifting and tilting tablet and It has some of the features that will remain in later works: essential and unconventional aesthetics, innovative mechanism, constructive solidity. The drawing board immediately stands out from the products on the market and it convinces Parigi family to present the new product at the Milan trade fair in 1965. This is how the story of HERON PARIGI begins, of which Paolo will remain the only designer until his death in January 2012. Numerous projects realized some of which are present in collections of international museums and others shown in industrial design exhibitions have received important awards. Knowing the prefered interest of Parigi for iron it is kind of common all their products have an industrial look and feel. This range of office chairs and sofas are a postmodern design of the 80s and early 90s. The 90s show in technical-looking details, such as the perforation of the stiffening of the star base or the industrial castors. The seat is made of a solid aluminum casting. The armrests and the rest of the frame are made of tubular steel. The tube is coated in matte anthracite and shaped in wide sweeps. The most striking detail of this design is found in the design of the backrest. Elastic bands are woven into a frame made of round tubing, which form the surface of the backrest. This very unique and rare three seat sofa only enters once in the market of design enthousiast and we are happy to offer one in very good condition!