“I would have liked to have been a director, but I only know how to design chairs.” Michele De Lucchi An innovative architectural project stimulates furniture design Michele De Lucchi first imagined the 298 (UniCredit Pavilion Project) chair as the seating for the multi-purpose building which he designed in natural materials and with innovative construction techniques. The UniCredit Pavilion, located in the new Porta Nuova area of the city, will open to the public in July. The pinnacle of the director’s chair in a combination of high technology and craftsmanship It was important that the seating designed for the UniCredit Pavilion would not only respect the aesthetics of the building but also respond to the numerous necessities of this dynamic space. Michele De Lucchi therefore studied and developed a sophisticated interpretation of the typical director’s chair in beech wood, a resistant and durable material. Each of the 900 chairs has an INOX steel mechanism which allows them to be easily folded away and neatly stored when not in use. Produced in the Cassina carpentry workshop with a number of highly advanced machines, the chair is further elaborated, finished and assembled by hand. The high quality workmanship can be seen in particular in the chair’s tapered wooden arms which smoothly curve into its legs, resulting in a light silhouette. The chair, with a padded seat and back rest upholstered in red fabric, has been left natural and finished with a low-gloss varnish to enhance the warmth of the wood. Measurements: 54x53xh.82/63cm Materials: seat and backrest: fabric with a thermoformed polyurethane insert upholstery: six colours from the Panorama Collection by Cassina frame: natural beech wood mechanism: INOX steel.

Cassina作为当今世界顶级家具品牌，有着悠久历史。早在十七世纪，Cassina就开始从事教堂木器家具的制作，精湛的工艺与对细节的专注使其在那个时期就赢得人们的尊敬，以致今天的人们仍能在美丽的科莫湖畔的教堂中找到Cassina当年产品的身影。

1927年，以Cassina兄弟（Cesare & Umberto Cassina）在意大利米兰成立Cassina公司为标志，Cassina开始了现代家具的生产历程。二次世界大战后，Cassina公司接受了一系列来自海军军舰、以及宾馆、饭店和社交活动场所的大型家具定单，这些特殊环境下对家具质量和功能的苛刻要求让Cassina长期秉承的质量、耐久、信誉的传统价值观得到充分的体现，并为Cassina后来的发展奠定了基础。

在意大利家具设计的潮流中，Cassina始终是一面旗帜，并形成了以米兰为中心的意大利家具设计和制造的高潮时代。如今Cassina的足迹遍布全世界，拥有近百年历史，被誉为“现代家具之王”，是当今世界当之无愧的奢侈品级家具品牌。