T69 Dining Table by Osvaldo Borsani & Eugenio Gerli for Tecno, 1960s

Eugenio Gerli (b. 1923) is an Italian architect and industrial designer known for his long-lasting collaboration with the Italian architect-designer Osvaldo Borsani and the Italian manufacturer Tecno.

In 1949, Gerli graduated with a degree in engineering and began his career a year later, opening his own architectural and industrial design practice. Gerli began experimenting with various materials such as resin, felt, and molded plywood, which led to designs he presented in 1951 at the 9th Triennale di Milano; his bent plywood armchair for Forma (1950s); and the three-legged Sommaruga Chair (1950s), which was made from resin reinforced molded felt on a steel base. Architecturally, the firm focused on residential and public buildings, as well as the renovation of historic Italian buildings. Notable architectural projects include the Cardiology Clinic in Laveno-Monbello (1950), the Ambasciatori Theater in Milan (1954), the renovation and restoration of the Castiglioni Palace (1903). Gerli was later joined by his two sons, Enrico and Guido, in the 1970s.

In 1957 Gerli began a long and fruitful collaboration with the Borsani brothers, Fulgenzio and Osvaldo Borsani (1911-1985)—founders of the Italian furniture manufacturing company Tecno. In 1968, Gerli and Osvaldo Borsani exhibited their revolutionary Graphis Office System (1967) at the 14th Triennale di Milano. The system, which was made up of just three basic elements, was heralded as a revolution in office furniture design because the system’s modular components allowed unlimited and customizable combinations, which could grow (or contract) with the company. The system remained a bestseller for decades and Tecno became synonymous for technologically-advanced design. The partnership between Gerli and Tecno lasted for more than 35 years, and resulted in many 20th-century design classics such as the T92 Butterfly Table (1960 with Mario Cristiani); T69 Table (1963 with Borsani), which features a cast dovetailing central base; the stackable S83 Chair (1966), and the PS142 and S142 armchairs (both 1966), among others.

During the 1970s, Tecno launched its Centro Progetti Tecno (CPT), an in-house team dedicated to communications and industrial design work. The team, which included Gerli, Valeria Borsani, Kugo Toru, Borsani and his son Marco, became a driving force of technologically advanced ideas in design. Although Borsani remained in charge, the purpose of the department was to present future designs as group creations. The CPT was responsible for a number of the company’s successes, including the molded plastic Modus Office Chair (1972), which won the SMAU Prize in 1973; the steel mesh Waiting System (1983), a modular seating and table concept for large public spaces; and the rebranding of Alitalia worldwide (1982-84), for which Centro Progetti Tecno was awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1984.

Although Gerli's career as an architect-designer was prolific, his work is often overshadowed by his contemporaries and the legacy of his long-term partner, Osvaldo Borsani. 

The Life of Osvaldo Borsani

Osvaldo Borsani was an Italian modernist designer who was instrumental in bringing modernism to Italy. Born in 1911, his father owned Atelier di Varedo, a company known for creating bespoke furnishings and interiors in an Art Deco style. His father, Gaetano, trained him to work in the family business while Osvaldo was attending art school. High quality was paramount at the Atelier so they would often take a lot of time over the craftsmanship to ensure the pieces were just right. The family was well educated and quite upper class, so Osvaldo Borsani's good education exposed him to modernism.

Osvaldo Borsani's Style

Osvaldo Borsani is probably the most famous, in terms of interior design, for his contribution to sofas and lounge chairs . The P40 Lounge, the D70 Sofa and the P11O "Canada" Chair were all very famous creations. Osvaldo Borsani also designed and built Villa Borsani - a rare surviving example of Osvaldo Borsani's architecture - during a transitional phase where he moved away from his father's traditionalism and towards modernism. He eventually blended both of these styles to create a new way of working, demonstrated perfectly by the Villa Borsani. While studying at the Politecnico di Milano, Osvaldo received the silver medal at the fifth Triennale exhibition for Casa Minima, a proposal for rationalist inspired housing. This thrust him into the spotlight, and fame soon followed. With the family business, he was given more room to experiment and be creative; in 1953 he partnered with his brother to form Tecno.

Collaborations and Tecno

Borsani, in his lifetime, collaborated with many other designers and architects, who then became lifelong friends. This list includes Lucio Fontana, Agenor Fabbri, Fausto Melotti, Roberto Crippa, Aligi Sassu and Gio and Arnaldo Pomodoro, to name a few. They joined forces on a range of interior and furniture designs, spawning creations that would become iconic. Borsani also traveled North to experience the works from his favourite designers, like Le Corbusier and Marcel Breuer . These influences are very evident in his chairs, and in other pieces designed for Tecno.The company Tecno continued to be a family buissness, Borsani's daughter and son-in-law became the sole designers, where for more than 30 years they were famed for their research-based technological approach. .

How to Spot a Borsani

Osvaldo Borsani's work is easy to spot due to its use of modern styles and craftsmanship. The brick and stucco architecture of the house, as well as the wisteria of the garden illustrates the clean lines of modernity, but the rich wooden mullions and casings are more inspired by designers such as Frank Lloyd Wright than Le Corbusier. The importance of quality is also reflected in the interiors - a crisscrossing marble staircase with a solid walnut handrail and support slats made of tempered class is a good example of the high calibre of his work. While respecting traditional craftsmanship, Osvaldo Borsani also embraced the burgeoning modernist style, marrying the two to create a hallmark all his own. Highly influential, his knack for timelessness and quality is something towards which all designers should aspire.

The roots of Italian industrial design company Tecno go back to the early 1920s, when woodworker and upholsterer Gaetano Borsani (1886-1955) set up Atelier Borsani Varedo (later called Arredamenti Borsani Varedo) in Varedo, Italy. In those early years, the family business produced fine, bespoke furnishings in a style that reflected the Art Deco movement as well as the artisanal traditions of the Brianza region of Lombardy. Participation in the Mostra Internazionale di Arte Decorative exhibitions in Monza earned Atelier Borsani acclaim in 1925, 1927, and 1930.

Gaetano’s twin sons Fulgenzio and Osvaldo Borsani took active roles in the company from an early age. While still studying architecture at Beaux-Arts Accedemia di Brera, Osvaldo designed a rationalist furniture collection, called Casa Minima, and presented it at the 5th Triennale di Milano in 1933. The project won a silver medal. Throughout the ’30s and ’40s, Atelier Borsani was commissioned by Lombardy’s elite society to create furniture for large and upscale domestic and office interiors.

Following the Second World War, Osvaldo began to envision transitioning his family’s business from traditional craft production to industrial manufacturing—even though his father Gaetano did not like the idea. Osvaldo remained determined to use modernist principles to design for the changing lifestyles of the postwar era. Together with his brother Fulgenzio, Osvaldo founded a new company, Tecno, in 1953.

Tecno’s first factory-produced collection of sofas, chairs, and tables received an enthusiastic reception at the 10th Triennale di Milano in 1954. The simple, adjustable D70 Sofa Bed (1954) received honorable mention, and Osvaldo promptly patented the design. Tecno’s next big hit was the P40 Lounge (1956), an adjustable, reclining chair with built-in footrest. Both of these Tecno products have become beloved symbols of the golden age of Italian modernist design.

While Osvaldo was inspired by the functionalist theories of the pioneers of modernism that practiced the generation before him, the flexibility and multipurpose capacities of Tecno’s earliest designs can also be traced to the work produced by Atelier Borsani Varedo. Gaetano’s success was built upon creating well made, customized, and adaptable furnishings. Osvaldo’s primary aim, in contrast to his father’s, was to take smart design solutions to the masses, especially in the context of office buildings and public spaces, like train stations, airports, and hospitals. 

In 1957, Osvaldo received his first first large-scale commission to design office furniture for ENI, the Italian multinational oil and gas company. More major commissions followed, and Tecno became internationally known for designs based in advanced technology.

In 1968, Tecno introduced the Graphis Office System (1967)—designed by Osvaldo Borsani and Eugenio Gerli (b. 1923)—at the 14th Triennale di Milano; it was heralded as a revolution in office furniture design because the system’s modular components allowed unlimited and customizable combinations that adapt overtime as companies grow and contract. It remained a bestseller for Tecno for decades.

In 1970, as Osvaldo began to step away from day-to-day operations and his son-in-law, Marco Fantoni, took a larger role—Tecno restructured its design approach. Underscoring the collaborative effort that goes into developing new designs, Tecno launched its Centro Progetti Tecno, an in-house team dedicated to communications and industrial design work. The Centro Progetti Tecno was responsible for a number of the company’s successes in the ’70s and ’80s, including the molded plastic Modus Office Chair (1972), which won the SMAU Prize in 1973; the steel mesh Waiting System (1983), a modular seating and table concept for large public spaces; and the rebranding of Alitalia worldwide (1982-84), for which Centro Progetti Tecno was award the Compasso d’Oro in 1984.

In the 1980s, Tecno began to commission outside designers to produced furniture designs—an approach that continues to this day. Highlights include Norman Foster’s Nomos Tables (1986); Luca Scacchetti’s Ianus Desk and Storage System (1988); Emilio Ambasz’s Qualis Chairs (1991), Piero Lissoni ‘s Asymmetrical System (2006); Rodolfo Dordoni’s PONS D011 Sofa and Table System (2011); Monica Förster’s Archipelago D502 Seating System (2012); and Luca Scacchetti’s Vara T503 Tables and Storage System (2013).

Tecno has also found success cultivating long-term partnerships with leading architects, who have commissioned Tecno to provide tailor-made furniture solutions for landmark buildings, such as Foster + Partners’ refurbished British Museum in London and Jean Nouvel's Agbar Tower in Barcelona.

In 2008, Tecno opened new Milan offices in the Porta Garibaldi Excise Buildings, following extensive adaptation and refurbishment work. Today, many Tecno products can be found in the collections of leading museums around the world such as  New York, SF MoMA, Victoria & Albert London, Pompidou Centre Paris, Neue Sammlung Monaco, Museum of Decorative Arts Montreal, and Triennale Milano.