Designed by Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret in 1938, reconstructed by Perriand’s daughter Pernette Perriand-Barsac and Cassina, and exhibited in Milan in 2012, the Refuge Tonneau is now available for viewing at Cassina’s Brussels location. Perriand-Barsac and a team from Cassina spent several years carefully studying all available records from the original design process and their reconstruction is as faithful to the 1938 design as possible (one change that the team agreed to permit was use of a more durable outdoor fabric for the LC2 chair than the one specified, because the two fabric types were deemed virtually indistinguishable). Charlotte Perriand worked for Le Corbusier in the first half of the 20th Century, and was one of the first women involved in avant-garde design during that period. Many contemporary historians and critics believe she did not receive due recognition for her accomplishments in interior, architectural, and furniture design, and some claim that her male colleagues took credit for her work. The display of Refuge Tonneau at Cassina is a rare opportunity to view and appreciate her work in person.
