The multiple blue details on the floor, columns, and furniture contribute to an ethereal atmosphere that blends into the horizon. That's the case of this simple stool designed by Lina, which is sometimes used as a seat and sometimes as a side table.

The Glass House was mentioned in several critical architectural vehicles as an example of impeccable modern construction.

THE SESC POMPEIA

The Sesc Pompeia is a set of buildings in the Pompeia neighborhood in São Paulo, Brazil, that works as a cultural and sports center, with a theater, ateliers, library, exhibition areas, auditorium, and open spaces that are a refuge in an agitated metropolis.

The property where Sesc Pompeia is was built in 1938 by the German firm Mauser & Cia Ltda. to work as a factory, following a project within the English production mold from the beginning of the century. In the following years, other companies used the buildings for industrial purposes, such as the drum manufacturer Ibesa which bought the property in 1945.

The project came intending to revitalize the old abandoned factory, resignifying its function from a labor objective focused on production and profits to economically unproductive ones dedicated to culture, well-being, and leisure. Undoubtedly, a clever insight by Bo Bardi and her collaborators, André Vainer and Marcelo Carvalho Ferraz.

The warehouses' restoration process occurred from 1977 to 1982, and the sports block was inaugurated a few years later, in 1986. Bo Bardi led the architectural project of restoration and readjustment of the buildings and also in many other areas – the workflow of cultural activities developed in the space, the graphic design and visual communication, employee uniforms design, and the furniture pieces, which we will detail further below.

In 2021, the project was elected as one of the 25 most important post-war architectural works by The New York Times. The architect and photographer Ciro Miguel is the author of the recent photos in this article, part of his continuous series of Everyday Photos.

The Sesc Stool is structured with only four thick rectangular blocks of plywood pine, different from the traditional thin layers of laminated wood or plywood. The material had been developed by the engineer Vinicio Walter Callia (1923–1994) as a construction material to be used in architectural structures. The stools were manufactured by SESC carpenters using plywood produced by Laminarco, Callia’s company. The pieces are built in a simplified manner that resembles crates, with a single decorative detail: a cutout in a "U" shape on the backrest.

The Bardi Institute archive has many sketches by Bo Bardi of the stool's design process, showing different construction variations, especially concerning the feet construction. SESC Pompeia has the right to restore and replace the furniture pieces for use in public spaces – Lina designed it for this purpose.

Bo Bardi's vast cultural production and critical texts shared that there's no universal solution for architecture and design problems; each needs to respond to the local circumstances and society. Besides the Sesc Pompeia Stool, Bo Bardi also designed other furniture pieces for the building. The Instituto Bardi's Archives has many sketches with tables, sofas, lighting objects, desks, and cabinets.

*The Sesc Pompeia Stool is the first piece by Lina Bo Bardi to be part of the Vitra Design Museum collection in 2020.

This text was written by Ariel Brasileiro, a museologist responsible for documentation and research at Bossa.