ESPASSO | Space for Thought: Bowl Chair

Bowl chair with painted iron and fabric upholstery designed by Lina Bo Bardi. Ca. 1951. 34" W x 34" D x 28" H

Sketches of Bardi's Bowl chair, circa 1950's. (Image credit: Lina Bo Bardi, São Paulo, 1994, p. 76)

The actress Odete Lara lounges on the Bowl Chair

Cover of the American 1953 edition of "Interiors"

"Furniture also has its morality and its reason for being in its own times. The copy of past styles, frills and fringes, are indicators of incoherent mentalities, out of morality of life." (Lina Bo Bardi, as quoted in Lina Bo Bardi, São Paulo, 1994, p. 76)

Lina Bo Bardi’s Bowl chair was designed as soon as she moved to Brazil. Originally trained as an architect and having worked for Gio Ponti in Italy, Bardi would later be famous for her design achievements in São Paulo, her adopted hometown. Her celebrated creations include the Glass House, the architect’s first solo building and private residence, which houses her art collection. She also designed the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP). Bardi left her signature on the wider cultural landscape with her stage and exhibition design work.

Space for Thought is the story behind a great piece or designer at ESPASSO, with the purpose of sharing Brazil's rich cultural heritage and the work of today's emerging talents. We hope you enjoy it.