The LUISS Business School, Marcel Breuer chairs and A 1700 tables from Thonet, Italian Interior Images

The LUISS Business School in Rome

Villa Blanc Interior in Rome, Italy

27 Apr 2017

The LUISS Business School

Location: Rome, Italy

Icons for an icon: The prestigious premises of new LUISS Business School in Rome’s Villa Blanc feature Marcel Breuer chairs and A 1700 tables from Thonet

An inspiring educational space: The LUISS Business school in Rome features furniture from Thonet

The historic Villa Blanc building in Rome has been subject to architectural and environmental preservation orders since 1922. Recently, it has found an inspiring new use as a campus for the renowned LUISS Business School. The University had originally acquired this elegant villa in 1997. Careful preservation work under the supervision of architect Massimo Picciotto has restored the building complex and the surrounding park, adapting the premises to its new educational role. XOffice, a Rome company of international reputation in the contract sector, contributed to the planning and implementation. The firm specializes in planning for offices, homes and communal spaces and has been an approved partner of Thonet since 2014.

Thonet’s strength lies in personalisation, so the company has produced furniture which perfectly fits this setting of prestige and excellence. The modular tables of the A 1700 Evolution system (designer Uwe Sommerlade) have been made in customised dimensions and forms for all the lecture theatres. The finishing is in solid sessile oak and Resopal® decorative laminates, all in harmony with the room’s sophisticated plasterwork. Modular technology, multimedia integration and careful aesthetic research make these tables perfect for training requirements. The made-to-measure A 1700 Evolution tables in the spectacular Aula Magna space are easy to dismantle and reassemble, permitting conversion of the space for other uses such as special events.

The classic Marcel Breuer cantilever chairs in S 64 tubular steel (artistic copyright Mart Stam) were designed in 1929 and became an emblem of the Bauhaus movement. Here they have been personalized with blue Kvadrat® upholstery and solid oak armrests, a perfect fit with the sophisticated nuances of the historic Aula Magna hall.

“Thonet has deployed all its skills in personalized furniture manufacture,” reflects Gianni Roveda, Country Manager Italy, Middle East and Turkey for Thonet. “By working in close contact with XOffice, and meeting the client’s requirements for materials and finish, we’ve come up with select products, distinctive for their high degree of personalisation and versatility.”

XOffice CEO Michelangelo Bernabei comments, “we’re proud of the trust LUISS has shown by picking us as their partner to design and build the Villa Blanc interiors.” He adds, “our involvement in such a large-scale and prestigious project has tested our own and our partners’ capacity, but the result is sensational, and extremely gratifying to us.”

Built in eclectic style by the architect and archeologist Giacomo Boni, Villa Blanc was designed as the residence of Baron Alberto Blanc, Foreign Minister in the Crispi Government. It lies amid some 39,000 sq. m of parkland, of environmental and landscaping interest, with six smaller buildings and some glasshouses. The restoration took five years and entailed major structural work, installation of air conditioning and IT facilities, plus a judicious artistic reworking of the ambience.

Customised Marcel Breuer S 64 cantilever chairs and the A 1700 Evolution modular table system from Thonet feature in the Aula Magna of Villa Blanc, the new lecture and event space for LUISS Business School in Rome, Italy.

Thonet offers renowned expertise in contract, hospitality and conferencing furniture, supplying the finest quality, carefully designed and individually finished furniture and systems to international projects that demand the highest standards.

Thonet – future-oriented furniture design with a long tradition
The unique success story of Thonet began with the work of master carpenter Michael Thonet. Since establishing his first workshop in Boppard on the River Rhine in 1819, the name Thonet has stood for high-quality, innovative and elegant furniture. The breakthrough came with the iconic chair No. 14, the so-called Vienna Coffee House Chair: the pioneering technique of bending solid beech wood for the first time enabled the mass production of chairs. The second milestone in design history was the tubular steel furniture by the famous Bauhaus architects Mart Stam, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer in the 1930s. At the time, Thonet was the world’s largest producer of these tubular steel furniture designs, which are considered timeless today.

For the company today, the continuous process of innovation stands in the foreground alongside a focus on tradition and fine craftsmanship. Thonet collaborates with renowned national and international designers – in addition, some of the furniture is designed by the in-house Thonet Design Team. All of the furniture is produced in the company-owned manufacturing facility, and, following the motto “Individuality is our standard”, custom-tailored solutions are part of everyday life in Frankenberg. Chief Executive Officer Brian Boyd together with Chief Operating Officer Michael Erdelt and Art Director Norbert Ruf manage the company at the corporate head offices and production site in Frankenberg/Eder (Germany). The descendants of Michael Thonet, the fifth and sixth generations, are actively involved with the company’s business as partners and sales representatives.

The LUISS Business School in Rome images / information received 270417

Thonet.de

Address: Via Nomentana, 216, 00162 Roma RM, Italy
Phone: +39 06 852251