The Round project D.154.5 fully satisfied Ponti’s design mind-set of the 1950s.
The project name, Round D.154.5, comes from the rounded shape of the seat and backrests, also referred to as the ‘soap bar’.
Characterized by avantgarde materials and technologies, such as the Vipla (a plastic material that resembles leather) for the upholstery, curved plywood to join the backrest and seat, and metal feet with non-slip tips that are easy to assemble.
Round D.154.5 is also referred to as ‘Otto Pezzi’ (Eight Pieces) in the Ponti/Fornaroli/Rosselli study. In fact, there are eight pieces that make up the chair: backrest, seat, two curved plywood elements and four legs, which screw into the seat to hold the whole thing together.
Designed in 1954, full production began in 1956/1957 and it was officially presented at the 11th Milan Triennale in 1957 (Feal Pavilion), along with other innovative Ponti
furnishings, in a limited number of examples which are now highly sought after by collectors.
Gio Ponti was very fond of this chair and often used it to furnish his architectural projects.