Work: Poltrona Sacco

Description

“An easy chair that permits sloppy postures, which at the time were deemed inappropriate and unsuitable for bourgeois living rooms. Being soft, ergonomic, and lightweight—and therefore easily moved from one room to another—it was one of the first truly nomadic pieces of furniture, capable of breaking up the rigid formality of the home.” — Chiara Alessi.

The core concept seems almost obvious today: a seat that adapts to the body, rather than forcing the body to adapt to the seat. The inspiration actually came from the Italian countryside, sparked by the simple jute sacks filled with leaves that local farmers used to sit on. Designed by a trio of young architects—Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini, and Franco Teodoro—the chair has been produced by Zanotta since 1968. Structurally, it is deceptively simple: a fabric envelope filled with millions of tiny expanded polystyrene beads.

The Sacco is a seat without an inherent shape. It emerged as a playful, direct provocation against the rigid demands of corporate functionalism and traditional ergonomics (the science of designing objects to fit the human body). As a fundamentally shapeless object, it challenges our sense of kinesthesia—our awareness of our body’s position and movement—forcing us into a continuous dialogue with it to find a comfortable equilibrium. The adaptation is entirely mutual.

Still in production today, the Sacco is available in an array of colors and premium materials, including leather, houndstooth, and technical fabrics like Vip and Tulip. The specific version in this collection is upholstered in an ochre-colored polyester, measuring approximately 130 cm high by 90 cm wide.

The Sacco was awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1970. Just two years later, it took center stage at MoMA’s landmark “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” exhibition in New York. Today, this revolutionary design resides in the permanent collections of the world’s finest institutions, including the Triennale Design Museum in Milan, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.