A perfectly round coffee table isn’t too difficult to find. The Rio coffee table 529, produced by Cassina, is one of the few exceptions.
Comprised of six segments, each of a different radius, the Rio, circa 1962, is a standout. Constructed in oak (stained or natural), marble or Viennese rattan, this design was initially created for the private residence of Jacques Martin, a television celebrity in Rio.
Architect Charlotte Perriand, who designed the Rio and later adapted it in an expanded version for the Japanese embassy in Paris, had an illustrious career. A prestigious L’Union centrale des Arts Decoratifs graduate in Paris, Perriand was invited to exhibit her furniture at Le Salon d’Automne. The story goes, according to WM magazine, that Le Corbusier was a tad gruff, purportedly saying, “What do you want?” as he quickly thumbed through her drawings and saying, “We don’t embroider cushions here”. However, Pierre Jeanneret, a Swiss architect and a cousin of Le Corbusier, who collaborated with the great architect, also visited Perriand’s stand, inviting her to join his studio. And, as they say, the rest is history.
The Cassina 529 Rio coffee table in Villa Amor by Arent&Pyke | Photography courtesy of Anson Smart
The Rio coffee table is irregular in shape and was designed with a hole at the centre. This may have been to allow an umbrella to be inserted for use outdoors, say, on the terrace – as in the case of Jacques Martin’s house overlooking Rio Beach, hence the name for this iconic table. But it’s also designed with splayed legs to create additional support, be it placed on a shag pile carpet or poolside. Designer Camilla Molders refers to the Rio as a ‘wedged-shaped’ table that goes well beyond the standard round-shaped coffee table. “Charlotte thought outside the ‘box’ or, in this case, the ‘circle’. It’s a familiar shape but taken in a new direction,” Molders says, who sees the table as both softening a rectilinear space as much as ‘adding a new layer or texture’ to a room. “The rattan option, as well as the timber or oak versions, would work equally well in both a classic or a contemporary interior,” she adds.
Being an architect and designer, Charlotte Perriand was often commissioned to create interiors that were as much as the ‘bones’ for every new project. Her work, irrespective of its form, is void of superfluous decoration—understanding each item’s essence and the function it needed to serve—akin to Le Corbusier’s mantra that ‘form follows function’.
The Cassina 529 Rio coffee table in Helix Residence by Daniel Boddam | Photography courtesy of Pablo Veiga
The Cassina 529 Rio coffee table in JUMA Architects’ home | Photography courtesy of Annick Vernimmen
The Cassina 529 Rio coffee table in Gunnamatta House by Akin Atelier | Photography courtesy of Anson Smart
