Rattan Stool by Gian Franco Legler

The Swiss designer Gian Franco Legler (1922-2015) was born in Ponte San Pietro near Bergamo and died in Zurich. From 1943 he studied architecture at ETH Zurich, complemented by mechanical engineering, toolmaking and chemistry, and in 1951 specialised in plastics and fibre technology at MIT in Boston. After several years in Chicago, including in the office of Jean Otis Reinecke, he founded his own studio for design, architecture and furniture retail in Zurich in 1963. He became known above all for the stackable 'Basket Chair' in woven rattan (1951). Legler designed numerous other seats, stools and objects in rattan and bamboo and worked with the Italian manufacturer Zanotta, among others, for which he designed the armchair 'Oasi'. His work stands for organic, material-conscious design with a focus on natural fibres and traditional weaving techniques.