Gio Ponti

Ponti took the traditional rush-seated chair made by fishermen's families in Chiavari, on the Ligurian coast, and refined it until it was almost weightless. His Superleggera of 1957, made by Cassina, weighs about 1.7 kilograms, light enough to lift with one finger, yet the ash frame with its slim triangular legs is strong enough that Cassina's publicity showed it thrown from a fourth-floor window. It is a superb dining chair for small rooms, easy to move and to sit on for hours. Ponti also founded Domus magazine, which spread these ideas worldwide.