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Da-vinci Genius of Design

Original design, made in Italy, unlike any other

Over 500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci broke the rules of innovation with his visionary engineering ideas and art. Ideas that stretched across disciplines, materialized with perfection, in each craft. Today, following in the footsteps of the great master, we create furniture that stitches together, science and art. Furniture that truly embodies the fine Italian tradition of design and craftsmanship. Furniture, that upholds the master’s rich legacy.

Motion sofas that transform at the touch of a button. Sectional sofas that can be rearranged as desired. Power recliners and loungers that offer a dream-like comfort. Chairs, high back and low back, that swivel at will. Dining tables that extend to accommodate more love. Over 350 sofas, 120 dining tables, 200 chairs, 70 recliners, and a lot more.

Award-winning innovations by the pioneers of the design world. Like Kurt Beier, Jamie Durie, Tamara Harty, and the like. Whose imagination surpasses all boundaries. Who create to dispel notions. Set trends.

Avant-garde designs, stemming from original ideas, brought to life. To bring you comfort, unlike any other.

Mona Lisa

Oil on poplar panel; 77 * 53 cm; c. 1503-5; Paris, Louvre

One of the most iconic artworks of all time. Also, among the most reproduced ones across the world. An unprecedented play at subtle gradations of light and shadow. Leonardo is known to have been commissioned by a merchant to paint the portrait of his wife, La Gioconda, when he started painting the Mona Lisa, in Florence. A quintessential example of humanism during the Italian Renaissance. Inimitable in the mysterious smile, the distinctive gaze, and the subtlest of details that belie all simplicity, only adding to her realism.

The Last Supper

Tempera on wall; 460 * 880 cm; c. 1495; Milan, Refectory of Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie

Commissioned by Duke Ludovico of Milan, Leonardo painted the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, where He announces that one of them would betray Him. The painting captures the bewilderment that ensues, drawing from the detailed knowledge of anatomy, geology, and geometry of the Renaissance maestro. Perfect with respect to space, light, and perspective, the Last Supper genuinely explores how humans register emotion.

Vitruvian Man

Pen and ink with washover metalpoint on paper; 34.4 *24.5 cm; c. 1482; Venice, Academy

Rule for the proportions of the human figure, according to the famed architect, Marcus Vitruvius. Manifests Leonardo’s belief that the workings of the human body are an analogy for the workings of the universe. Drawing depicts a male figure in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart and simultaneously inscribed in a circle and square. Explores the concept of art as microcosm, meaning that art is a recreation of the universe from a personal perspective, giving man a new reality to contemplate.

Leonardo’s Navigli: the artificial waterways of Milan

c. 1482; Milan, Museum of Navigli

Commissioned by Duke Ludovico of Milan, Leonardo began research on an innovative canal system that could make the navigation between Lake Como and Milan possible in 1482. He designed a system of levees that solved the problem of altitude differences between the two places. To facilitate the opening of the canal gates by a hydraulic mechanism, he conceived a unique design called mitre locks, that is still in use till date. Pivotal to the economic development of the entire city, he practically improved the Naviglio Martesana that’s today fed by the river Adda, the Naviglio Grande that’s fed by the river Ticino, and the Naviglio Pavese that flows out of the old harbour in Darsena.

City Planning

Plan of Imola, Pen and watercolour drawing; 44*60.2 cm; 1502; Windsor, Royal Library

Ichnographic drawing of the layout of the Italian town, Imola, ‘as if viewed from an infinite number of viewpoints.” Unrealistically accurate, this map was made by Leonardo under the patronage of Cesare Borgia to help him get a better grasp of the geography of the city. Similar to this, the maestro recreated the design of many medieval cities around the late-fifteenth century. Milan’s large-scale devastation by plague in 1484-85 necessitated a design of a new city that would have better connectivity, services, and sanitation. He envisaged an “ideal city” that would have lower areas with canals for commercial purposes and drainage. And upper areas with roads that would be comfortably broad for travelling.

Revolving Bridge, c. 1480

Light, yet rugged. For easy and quick transportation, whenever required. Designed for Duke Sforza to make soldiers’ lives easier, Leonardo’s revolving bridge was meant to swing across a stream and set down on the other side. Its wheels and the rope-and-pulley system would only add to its functionality. And its counterweight tank would further assist in its balancing.

Aerial Screw (Helicopter)

Pen drawing on white paper; 23* 16 cm; c. 1493; Paris, French Institute Library

Predecessor to the first actual helicopter built in the 1940s. Also called the “helical air screw.” Measured more than 15 ft in diameter. Made from reed, linen, and wire. Designed to be powered by manual rotation of the crank to rotate the shaft, it was supposed to work on the principle of compression of air to obtain flight.

Armoured Car

Pen on paper; 24.5 cm * 17.3 cm; c. 1487; London, British Museum

Precursor to the modern tank. Loaded with weapons. And capable of moving 360-degree. In just about any direction. Courtesy the design that featured a number of light cannons arranged on a circular platform with wheels. Even had a turret on top to coordinate and steer, and a protective cover, reinforced with slanted metal plates, to deflect enemy fire. Motion to be powered by mechanical turning of the cranks inside the tank to spin the wheels. The design still had a major engineering flaw, the powering cranks went in opposite directions. However that’s believed to be intended by the maestro, to avoid war. An avant-garde design coupled with far-sighted thinking. Way ahead of its time.