Tobia SCARPA

Tobia Scarpa, son of the architect Carlo Scarpa, was born in Venice in 1935. He studied architecture at the IUAV in Venice and, during the course of his studies, he met Afra Bianchin, with whom he shared his profession and life for many years. The two graduated in 1957 and married shortly after, to immediately start a brilliant professional collaboration. After a short period in which Tobia Scarpa works for the Venini glassworks in Murano, the two open their studio. During a university course in furniture, held by Franco Albini in 1959, Tobia and Afra designed their first design object, the Pigreco chair, for Gavina, a company later taken over by the current Knoll brand. Pigreco is just the first of many design works, which mark the collaboration with various companies in the Cassina, Bernini, Flos Meritalia sector… Many of their products have entered the history of design and are part of the permanent collection in various museums around the world. The 925 Armchair, created for Cassina in 1966, is exhibited at the MoMA in New York, while the Libertà chair, designed for Meritalia, is located in the Contemporary Art section of the Louvre. For Cassina Afra and Tobia Scarpa they also designed the famous Soriana armchair, which received the Compasso d'Oro in 1970. For the Flos company, the couple designed, between 1962 and 1975, the lamps Fantasma, Foglio, Biagio, Pierrot, Ariette and Papillona. The Coronado sofa was born from the collaboration with B&B Italia, designed in 1966 but still a symbol of relaxation today. Tobia Scarpa has also carried out various architectural projects: in addition to some villas and palaces, with his wife Afra he oversaw the construction of several industrial plants, including the first factory of the Benetton brand and many of the brand's stores around the world. In 2008 she received the Compasso d'Oro award for his career. /