Icons
IN CELEBRATION OF ITS 90 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, MOLTENI&C IS LOOKING BACK ON SOME OF THE PRODUCTS THAT HAVE SHAPED ITS HISTORY. 
Four definitive pieces have been selected from its collection to be Molteni Icons: the D.154.2 and D.151.4 armchairs by Gio Ponti; the Arc table by Foster+Partners; and the Graduate bookshelf by Jean Nouvel.
THE FIRST PRODUCTION VERSION OF THE CHAIR, SHOWN AT THE XI TRIENNALE IN MILAN IN 1957 PH. OLIVER HELBIG, FROM MOLTENI MONDO BY RIZZOLI NY, 2024. COURTESY OF GIO PONTI ARCHIVES.
HERITAGE IMAGES OF D.154.2 ARMCHAIR. FROM MOLTENI MONDO, RIZZOLI NY 2024. PH. OLIVER HELBIG. COURTESY OF GIO PONTI ARCHIVES.
The Icon of Villa Planchart
Like many of Gio Ponti's other pieces, the D.154.2 was conceived for a private client, the collectors Anala and Armando Planchart, as part of the project for their villa in Caracas, Venezuela, which was planned by Ponti to every last detail. Indeed, Villa Planchart (1953-57) is an all-encompassing work of art featuring a global approach to design that characterised the Maestro's influential work. "I dedicated my heart and soul to designing Villa Planchart, and in it, I was at liberty to express my own approach to architecture, both outside and inside," Ponti wrote in Domus.
The building, its interiors and its furnishings were inspired by his travels across Latin America, “from seeing some minor yet beautiful work by Oscar Niemeyer, to thinking of Luis Barragán's Casa Pedregal in Mexico City – the latter so uniquely rooted in its natural ecosystem as this building of mine appears detached from it”. The result is an architecture replete with creative and amusing features that are as abundant as the tropical vegetation it embraces: a majestically decorated patio by Melotti, theatrical windows and balconies overlooking the open hall, and bright and colourful ceilings.
take a look inside
Discover the history of Villa Planchart in Caracas, Venezuela, as we celebrate the Compasso d’Oro Career Award for Products for Gio Ponti’s D.154.2 armchair.