How did Gaetano Pesce's UP5 armchair ship?
Chapter 1

Radical beginnings and material revolution

Chapter 2

The UP5 chair and design as protest

Chapter 3

Architecture that breathes

Chapter 4

The beauty of imperfection

YOUR GOAL

Master of The world of Gaetano Pesce

Ch 1 · Radical beginnings and material revolution
sonia

sonia The magic of the vacuum-packed chair

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sonia Gaetano Pesce

Break open the seal and watch the UP5 rise!

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The magic of the vacuum-packed chair

sonia Pesce invented a self-inflating armchair packaged in flat vacuum bags that popped up when opened.

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Playing with liquid plastic and resins

sonia Pesce championed polyurethane resin, a flexible synthetic liquid, to create brightly colored, squishy furniture.

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Radical beginnings and material revolution
BETA

sonia Mix expanding foam and resin to discover how Gaetano Pesce began his radical design revolution.

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Fun Fact

Resin secrets: Gaetano Pesce once made a giant floor lamp shaped like a blooming flower that smelled like real forest pine when turned on.

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Glossary
polyurethane (noun)
A synthetic resin used chiefly in the manufacture of tough plastics and flexible foams. In 1969, Gaetano Pesce used this expanding material to create his vacuum-packed UP5 armchair.

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Gossip

Would you buy a chair that looks slightly deformed but is totally unique?

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Quiz

Where did Gaetano Pesce study architecture before launching his radical design career?

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Quiz

Which synthetic, flexible material did Gaetano Pesce pioneer to create his squishy, colorful furniture?

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Quiz

In what Italian city was the radical designer and architect Gaetano Pesce born in 1939?

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Quiz

What manufacturer did Gaetano Pesce collaborate with in 1969 to produce his self-inflating polyurethane foam chairs?

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Quiz

How did Gaetano Pesce's famous 1969 UP5 armchair ship to customers before inflating itself?

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Quiz

What design movement did Gaetano Pesce join in the 1960s to protest against cold, functional modernism?

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Quiz

What did Gaetano Pesce call his concept of making mass-produced factory items slightly different from each other?

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Quiz

What did Gaetano Pesce experiment with when creating his famous 1984 Pratt chairs?

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