Wright Auction

The present lot is one of approximately sixteen examples of this lounge chair, made for the Cartiera Burgo (now the Burgo Group) headquarters just outside of Turin. Niemeyer began designing the building for the paper manufacturing company in 1977. The building was completed in 1981, its circular floor plan characteristic of Niemeyer's use of simple, organic shapes used to astounding effect.

This chair would have been in the central hall, from which offices branched outward, that looked out onto the water and gardens surrounding the building. In 1977, Domus likened the design to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and the furniture had a similarly elegant, futuristic aesthetic. This design is related to Niemeyer's Aran lounge chair, which was produced in the mid-1970s, but it is distinctive for its addition of acrylic to the base, echoing the floating effect seen in the building itself.