Zanotta Sella

Dynamic balance Irony and attention to function are the premises on which the 'jugglers' Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni based their participation in the exhibition 'Colori e forme nella casa d'oggi' at Villa Olmo, Como, in 1957. This was one of the seminal experiences of Italian design culture, in which, as if by magic, a genuine racing-bicycle saddle (Sella) appeared, mounted on a stainless steel column carried by a heavy hemispherical base that allowed a 'dynamic balance'. The object was designed as a 'telephone stool' for unusual postures and occasional sitting. Apart from its clear reference to the world of cycle racing (its colour recalls the pink jersey of the winner of the Giro d'Italia), it evokes the milking stool that is 'fastened' to the body with a waist belt. This consists of a very simple seat and just one leg, forming the third element required for proper stability alongside the two legs of the person sitting on it. It looks like a bicycle saddle and is 50 years old... It is a piece that Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni designed in 1957 and that Zanotta still proudly keeps in its catalogue.