Chair Sabrina at Alessandro Mendin, Studio Alchimia

ALCHIMIA_1982_SABRINA_PHOTO_018_SINGLE+MENDINI_FINAL_TIF_100824 — Chair Sabrina, Prototype, **Alessandro Mendini** and **Frans Vogelaar**, Studio Alchimia, Milan, 1982

Frans Vogelaar as a member of the architectural and design office “Studio Alchimia” in Milan, Italy, designed, based on one sketch by Alessandro Mendini, and in close collaboration with the renown Italian furniture manufacturer “Driade”, the “Sabrina” chair and bench.

Frans also developed the prototype and supervised the industrial production of the “Sabrina” furniture series.

Design & Prototype Development, Supervision Industrial Production, Chair Sabrina by Allesandro Mendini @ Driade, Alzaia Trieste 49, Corsico, Italia, 1982

Studio
Alchimia

Studio Alchimia, founded in 1976 in Milan by Alessandro Guerriero and his sister Adriana Guerriero, was an interdisciplinary group with a very broad and prolific practice, including fashion-, set- (industrial) product-design and architecture, decorative and performance arts, experimental videos and dedicated seminars and publications.

Studio Alchimia worked together with famous Italian and international designers, architects and artists such as Ettore Sottssas, Andreas Branzi, Coop-Himmelblau, Nicola De Maria, Michele De Lucchi, Michael Graves, Richard Meier, Paola Navone, Denis Santachiara, Philippe Starck and Frank Stella.

Studio Alchimia was awarded the Compasso d’Oro in the Design Studio category in 1981 for design research.

Chair
Sabrina

The basic technical inner element was defined and produced by “Driade”. Integrating this inner element into the design of the “Sabrina” furniture series, Frans Vogelaar designed, developed and supervised the production of the chair and bench (1981-1982).

ALCHIMIA_1982_SABRINA_WEB_030_SABRINA_WEBP_040925 — Studio Alchimia, Ollo Collection, Alchimia Museum, Milan, Exhibition, 1988
Studio Alchimia, Armchair Sabrina, **Alessandro Mendini** & **Frans Vogelaar**, Studio Alchimia, 1982
Photographer: **Emilio Tremolada**, 1988

Alessandro
Mendini

Alessandro Mendini (16 August 1931 – 18 February 2019) was an Italian designer and architect, editor-in-chief of Domus magazine and member of “Studio Alchimia”. Mendini was highly influential for the development of Italian postmodern Post-Radical Design. Mixing different cultural influences and expression forms, Mendini focused in his practice on reintegrating human values and sensibilities that had been neglected by Functionalistic Design and its commercialization.

The chair “Sabrina” in 1982 was the start of the collaboration between Alessandro Mendini at Studio Alchimia and “Driade”, the Italian furniture manufacturer, famous for introducing experimentation into mass-produced products and committed to the idea that eclecticism, blend of cultures, curiosity and surprise are the true essence of our age and thus contemporary art of living.

Paolo
Deganello

The basic element of the chair “Sabrina”, provided the structure for furniture designs not only by Alessandro Mendini but also by Paolo Deganello, the co-founder of the Florence-based “Archizoom Associati studio”, advancing the concept of Radical Design.

Achille
Castiglioni

The third designer to be involved ibn the chair “Sabrina” project was the famous Italian designer Achille Castiglioni (16 February 1918 – 2 December 2002). Next to Alessandro Mendini and Paolo Deganello, also Achille Castiglioni developed furniture designs based on the basic structure of “Sabrina”.

“Sabrina” thus provided a unique collaboration opportunity of these most influential actors of the cultural design production of the late 20^th century.

Driade

Driade, the Italian furniture manufacturer, is an aesthetic lab in continuous search for beauty in living space. The aesthetic lab is the result of the desire to introduce experimentation into mass-produced products.

Driade, started 1968, is collaborating with exceptional designers who, together with the company, contributed to creating significant pieces that make up the picture of the history of design.

Studio Alchimia, Ollo Collection, Alchimia Museum, Milan, Exhibition, 1988
Studio Alchimia, Armchair Sabrina, Alessandro Mendini & Frans Vogelaar, Studio Alchimia, 1982
Photographer: Emilio Tremolada, 1988

Basic
Element

ALCHIMIA_1982_SABRINA_023_3 CHAIRS+SKETCH_WEBP_250825 — Chair Sabrina, Sketch, **Alessandro Mendini** and **Frans Vogelaar**, Studio Alchimia, Milan, 1982

The basic technical inner element was the starting point for furniture designs by Alessandro Mendini, Paolo Deganello and Achille Castiglioni, enabling a unique collaboration of these three world-famous representatives of Italian avant-garde post-Radical Design.

Scheme