The T96 is an executive desk that organises its architecture around two chromed pylons and a boomerang-shaped top, pushed out at each end into obtuse angles that open the desk toward the surrounding space. On one side, a three-drawer unit attaches to the pylon and cantilevers forward; on the other, a second unit combines a drawer bank with an open shelving compartment, visually balancing the mass. The whole desk rests on three-armed polished aluminium bases, one of whose arms extends outward into a long, tapered limb that terminates in a cast teardrop foot, the formal signature of the piece. The result is a desk without a defined front or back: an object meant to be read from every angle, sculptural in its proportions.
The top is made of black lacquered wood with a bevelled edge, mounted on a structural subframe that conceals its anchorage to the chromed pylons. The pylons are in turned chromed steel, with a visible joint at mid-height and a black rubber collar cushioning the contact with the top. The drawer units are black lacquered parallelepiped volumes, suspended, with horizontal tapered ribs on the fronts that serve as integrated pulls; inside, the runners and sides are in visible warm-toned wood, contrasting with the glossy exterior. The cast aluminium bases are polished and carry the marks of use characteristic of the material, with the third arm always extended for structural counterbalance. The original Tecno Milano label is applied to the pylon.
The T96 was designed by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno in 1956 and entered the company's executive line, the office furniture family that marked Tecno's transition from domestic production to the large contract furniture market. Borsani approached the desk as a problem of plan and movement rather than decoration: the boomerang top was conceived to accommodate the circulation of the executive between telephone, documents and visitor, while the chromed structure allowed the visual dissociation of top and drawer units, each suspended on its own pylon. Published in Gramigna and Irace, Osvaldo Borsani, Leonardo-De Luca, 1992, pp. 268-269, the T96 is today recognised as one of the high points of post-war Italian executive design.
Professionally restored by our in-house atelier, in excellent condition with only the normal marks of time. The black lacquer on the top and drawer units has been redone to a high standard and is intact. The chromed finish on the pylons shows an even patina and some surface oxidation points proper to the age of the piece. The cast aluminium bases retain the use marks typical of the original casting. The Tecno Milano label is present and legible. The drawer units slide smoothly.
Dimensions: Height 73 cm (28.7 in) x Width 248 cm (97.6 in) x Depth 120 cm (47.2 in)
