Maralunga

"I was drawing something for Cesare Cassina. It all came out of an armrest with a cushion attached. By observing it and making it swing, I thought I could make a movable headrest cushion for a sofa and I exchanged looks with Cesare Cassina. This is what gave birth to the Maralunga sofa, one of the most widely sold pieces of Italian design." Vico Magistretti

Comfort, a reassuring and familiar aesthetic and transformability are the key words behind the Maralunga sofa, a design that "goes beyond any possible exercise in fashion and style".

In this case, Magistretti tackles the theme of the transformability of objects, as was the case in Veranda (Cassina 1983) and in the subsequent foldable objects created for Campeggi, without ever giving up the care for comfort. The Maralunga sofa and armchair have a steel frame and a black plastic support base, are padded with polyurethane foam, Dacron fiberfill and polyester wadding and accommodate cushions and seats in polyurethane foam and polyester wadding. The sofa and armchair, upholstered in fabric or leather, are characterised by the innovative option of choosing the position - high or low - of the single headrests, which are adjustable in their configuration thanks to the concealed incorporation of a bicycle chain, using a system patented in 1985 (patent of the 161717 series of models, 3.2.1985). Magistretti reminds us that the suggested use of the object is not formal but satisfies the variable functional requirements dictated by new family rituals, such as watching television, thus confirming the idea inherent in all the designer's projects. Maralunga, which is still in production with minor size adjustments, became an international success and won the Compasso d'Oro from ADI in 1979.