Lina Bo Bardi & Studio de Arte Palma
The Kalon Library Vol. 03
From our studio shelves — volumes that trace the ideas, influences, and cultural undercurrents behind our work.
Likely the most consequential architect many have never encountered, Lina Bo Bardi transformed modern design in Brazil through a practice that moved fluidly across architecture, furniture, illustration, and journalism. A pioneer of socially conscious design, she brought a deep respect for vernacular material culture into the heart of modernism. Books focused specifically on her furniture work remain surprisingly few; Lina Bo Bardi & Studio de Arte Palma is a rare look at her furniture design practice.
Before you address the problem of industrial design itself, you must frame it within a social-economic-political context, within the structure of the place, of the country, in this case Brazil. — Lina Bo Bardi
The book traces Bo Bardi’s founding of Studio Palma in 1948 — a collaboration with Giancarlo Palanti rooted in modern architecture and deepened through her engagement with Brazilian popular culture. Concepts drawn from Indigenous and rural traditions informed her design language, yielding works that balanced rigor with an unpretentious, human sensibility.
“For Lina Bo Bardi, the premise behind the conception of the Brazilian Studio Palma, which opened in 1948, was founded on modern architecture… However, its main feature was Lina’s discovery and use of an extremely rich repertoire of Brazilian popular culture, whose concepts she masterfully applied and materialized in the design of her furniture during her first pioneering years in Brazil. Popular art and culture were treated by Lina with the same reverence and respect paid to erudite art and culture.”
“Lina was pioneering the use of everyday materials that had never been used before in furniture design, such as Indigenous hammock mesh, light iron pipe structures from electrical conduits, horseback-riding leather soles, and strings similar to those used in clothing and bags in the countryside and the peripheries of cities.”
We thought of saving humanity with modern architecture and industrial design. It didn’t happen. — Lina Bo Bardi
“When Lina talks about ”morals” or “life’s morality,” she is not referring to religious norms or values but existential values, that is, a human being’s responsibility and commitment to their own time”
We hope you’ll consider supporting local, independent bookstores and publishing houses. You can purchase Lina Bo Bardi & Studio de Arte Palma directly from the publisher This Side Up or from Head Hi in Brooklyn.
If you enjoyed this, consider subscribing to Matter & Meaning — our monthly digest of culture, design, and studio perspectives. [Subscribe →]
