Ico Parisi, Casa Manoukian a Como, Lombardy, 1953
Ico Parisi, Casa Manoukian a Como, Lombardy, 1953
Ico Parisi was one of the influential designers who shaped the look of the 1950s. The Sicilian-born architect considered himself a Renaissance man, and he was prolific as a filmmaker and designer of furniture, glass, and jewelry. Alone or in collaboration with his wife, Luisa, a student of Gio Ponti, Parisi worked to create desks, chairs, and upholstered sofas in wood and metal for high-end clients. In pieces like his 1955 lounge chair, with its crimson or lime green upholstery and curvaceous wooden frame, Parisi’s work epitomizes the funky, modernist style of the early atomic age.
The Casa Manoukian, designed by the Italian Ico Parisi, houses several rooms for students with 13,12m2 each. The characterising element of the rooms is the library which is located in the opposite wall of the entrance. It consists of four perforated panels in which one can choose where to place the available shelves. The bed is hidden from the entrance to give some privacy to the inhabitant – it is placed in a niche locaded in the left side of the room. All furnishings are in walnut with the exception of the cabinet whose doors are made of laminated plastic. The lighting is diffused by means of two sets of neon (top of the wardrobe and bed in between the niche and the rest of the room) and the only punctual source of light is the desk lamp.
Selected bibliographical references:
- Translated and adapted from the work of the students Farrari Paola and Fracassi Andrea (Corso di Arredamento e Architettura d’interini Docente Gianni Ottolini 1992-93)
Selected links:
Reviewed by :
Rémi Farwati, Elena Giannitsopoulos, Nadir Bouchene, Adela Plasilova, March 2017