Sober and refined, the Kyoto table, designed by architect and designer Gianfranco Frattini, is a perfect expression of the encounter between design vision and masterful craftsmanship. In the early 1970s, during a trip to Japan to study the work of local masters, Gianfranco Frattini visited Kyoto’s artisan workshops together with master cabinetmaker Pierluigi Ghianda, who would become his friend and collaborator. Inspired by the woodworking techniques and aesthetics he encountered there, the designer conceived the joint that forms the basis of the table of the same name, which went into production in 1974. Kyoto immediately became an example of an understated aesthetic that, in the finest tradition of Italian design, combines mastery of ideas with their impeccable execution.

In the Kyoto table, the construction concept becomes the object itself. The absence of decorative elements enhances the beauty of the raw material, demanding exceptional skill and care in its execution, as well as a profound knowledge of the material. Reissued by Poltrona Frau in full respect of the original design, Kyoto reflects the expertise and capabilities of a new generation of artisans, heirs to Italy’s rich woodworking tradition, and joins Albero and Turner as an example of fine cabinetmaking.

Kyoto is part of the permanent collection of the Design Museum at the Triennale Milano.