The Use of Polyurethane Foam in Contemporary Italian Design: Case Studies from the Triennale Design Museum in Milan

This paper reports the study of several design objects from the Triennale Design Museum in Milan – all of which are part of the Multipli series by the Italian brand Gufram® – including three examples of a sofa called Pratone, three stone-shaped seats called Sedilsasso e sassi, a coat stand in the shape of a Cactus and the Capitello recliner. All of these design objects were produced at different times from the early 1970s to the present day using “polyurethane foam and washable latex”, and are already showing signs of different degradation processes. In addition to identifying the various material compositions and degradation phenomena that affect these artefacts, in order to develop preventive conservation plans for their future maintenance, our study sought to identify any differences in the materials and manufacturing techniques used to produce the same series over the years and if these differences can be correlated to their state of conservation. Samples of the objects were collected and examined by optical and electron microscopy, FTIR-ATR, XRF and pyGC-MS to obtain information relative to the compositional materials involved (PUR foams, painted layers, varnishes and protective coatings) and the relative degradation processes.