Osvaldo Borsani (1911 - 1985)

Osvaldo Borsani was born on August 17 th 1911 in Varedo. Like his twinbrother Fulgenzio, he was introduced to the Lombardian art of cabinetmaking at an early age. Their father Gaetano Borsani was a celebrated cabinetmaker, who took part at the International Applied Arts Exhibition in Monza 1927.

Borsani participated in the V. Trienale and won a first prize for his project of a “Casa Minima” in 1933 when he was still a student at Milan's Politecnico. After graduating in 1937, he was deeply influenced by avant-garde art and rationalism. From this point on he began working together with a number of such important Italian artists as Lucio Fontana, Aligi Sassu, Agenore Fabbri, Roberto Crippa, Fausto Melotti, Arnaldo and Giò Pomodoro. This cooperation continued until the 1950s.

Beginning with his first project, the “Casa Minima”, where he interprets rationalism in a very distinguished and luxurious manner, Borsani explores the frontiers between art, design and architecture. His projects of the 1940s and early 1950s feature a typical Italian approach to interior design in combining undogmatic elegance, exotic details, precious materials and craftsmanship with technical innovations, rationalist forms and a certain kind of sobriety.

Technical aspects began playing a major role in Borsani's work by the mid 1950s. He centered around the question of production and serial fabrication. A company named Tecno was founded by Osvaldo and his brother Fulgenzio in 1953. Tecno was initiated at a time of massive economic and social change in Italy, and the Borsani twins realized the potential of this situation. Very early, the company was able to win important clients with technical innovation, serial fabrication and a hypermodern production. Tecno successfully transferred the high quality of Lombardian cabinetmaking tradition into industrial production of furniture.

In the early 1970s Borsani, Marco Fantoni and Valeria Borsani initiated the “Centro Progetti Tecno”, which was intended to be a think-tank occupied with the solving of problems and the development of new products. With an immense variety it covered a   wide range, from architecture to tiny consumer goods. Many important cooperations began in the context of this think-tank, e.g. with Sir Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, Jean Nouvel or Gae Aulenti. Borsani and Tecno became a solid commercial success and they contributed to the design of the 20 th century with important pieces.  

Osvaldo Borsani died in Milan in 1985. His work remains a living expression of a successful search for good design, unifying techniques, elegance and the demands of modern everyday life.