Osvaldo Borsani (1911-1985) & Eugenio Gerli (1923-2013) Biography
Eugenio Gerli was born in Milan in 1923. After graduating in architecture and design from the Polytechnic of Milan in 1949, he began his career as an architect. He subsequently divided his business between Italy, Europe, the United States and Ivory Coast. Gerli actively dedicated himself to the early stages of the evolution of Italian industrial design as early as 1947, experimenting with materials such as plywood and plastic felt. Since 1957 he has collaborated closely with Tecno, founded by Osvaldo Borsani in 1950, contributing to the company's growth through the design of some of its most successful products, including the Graphis programme, Graphis Box and the Clamis chairs. Starting in the late 1970s, Gerli continued his business together with his children.
Osvaldo Borsani, architect and designer, studied at the Polytechnic of Milan and after graduating, he started working in the family company Atelier Varedo as a furniture designer. During the 1940s and 1950s he made a wide range of models. Together with his brother Fulgenzio, he founded the company Tecno, whose name suggests a keen sense of technology in design. Borsani acted as the company's sole designer until the mid-1970s, when other authors joined the design team.
