The armchair, which carries the name of Joe’s wife, was designed two years before
it entered production (1965), and was one of the first furniture items to feature
plastic reinforced with fibreglass.
Joe believed in the future and applied technology, even at home. His better known
predictions include “… we will have phones in our pockets …” and that they would be
designing soon with the help of an “electronic brain”.
For the Elda armchair, he decided to abandon the usual wood frame typically used for
all armchairs of that time, such as those designed by Giò Ponti. Drawing inspiration
from boat hull technology, he obtained a lightweight yet resistant structure with
composite material.
FUTURISTIC
DESIGN
9
