Day library B/146 by Carlo Bartoli for Arflex, 1963

Day library model B/146, designed by Carlo Bartoli in 1963 and produced by Arflex in Milan. This was Bartoli's first industrial furniture project, created for his own home and deemed so rational, both technically and aesthetically, that it was included in the Arflex catalog, later cataloged in the Italian Design Repertoire by Giuliana Gramigna. The piece is open on both sides, lacking a back and sides: it can be placed against a wall or used as a dividing element in the center of a room. A base supports a series of vertical full-height panels, arranged alternately and asymmetrically, onto which the shelves with lateral overhang are mounted. The central post, in a darker tone, is the load-bearing element and divides the space into two bays. The construction system is the distinctive element of the project: no screws, only dry joints with cylindrical pins. Assembly starts from the base, inserting the panels, back panels, and finally the shelves into the appropriate grooves. Arflex presented the model as a dismountable and reconfigurable library. Bartoli himself described the principle as that of a reinforced concrete building frame: load-bearing posts and floors. This library is made of rosewood, the rarest and most sought-after finish. BIBLIOGRAPHY G. Gramigna, "Repertorio del design italiano 1950/2000 per l'arredamento domestico, " Allemandi, Turin 2003, p. 102.