It was 1920 when a small family-run company was born in the heart of Brianza, in Cantù, producing solid wood furniture with a classic style. Thus began the story of Riva 1920 , and it is right to remember it, to understand how deep his knowledge of wood is, a material with many varieties and great beauty. Wood is the leitmotif of all the steps in the history of the company, which since the 1970s has declined its projects in the sign of contemporary design and research, oriented towards an ever greater enhancement of the material.

Briccole of the Venice Lagoon by Riva 1920

In particular, since 2000, Riva 1920 has turned its gaze to the universe of sustainable design: a forward-looking and dutiful choice, interpreted with creative flair and great elegance. And here, the search for sustainable wood sources, leads the company to adopt, in addition to American reforestation woods, also the millennial Kauri of New Zealand, the Briccole of the Venice Lagoon and the Cedar of Lebanon. Each with its surprising history and exceptional formal characteristics interpreted with great respect and devotion by the designers.

Riva 1920 for sustainable design

Kauri

Kauri Beam table by Riva 1929

Kauri is an arboreal plant that grows in the sub-tropical areas of New Zealand whose first specimens date back to the Jurassic era. Their trunk is the largest of all tree species: they can rise over 70 meters and have a diameter of up to 9 meters. Majestic and imposing, they are protected today by the New Zealand government, and it is absolutely forbidden to cut them. So what is the source that Riva 1920 uses to find their timber? It is a story in history, because at the end of the ice age, entire forests of kauri were submerged in the mud, this mud has somehow preserved them and today, trunks and roots with characteristics similar to those just cut are found despite the tens of thousands of years that have passed. The resin has turned into amber and gives rise to enchanting shades, unique in their kind. From this precious material Riva 1920 has obtained a collection of great beauty, on the cover and in this image we see the Beam  table by Maurizio and Davide Riva, designers and owners of the company together with their sister Anna.

Briccole

Touch Briccola by Riva 1920

From New Zealand we move to the Venetian lagoon to find another type of wood with a deep and fascinating history: the briccola wood. Briccole are the characteristic oak poles that are planted in the bottom of the lagoon to signal the waterways and the tides to the boats. Of course, the water corrodes them and this requires a periodic replacement. New briccole are planted and the old ones, made unique by the weather and shellfish interventions, are recovered by Riva 1920 and transformed into sculpture furnishings that enhance their characteristics. In the image, the Touch  briccola table by Carlo Colombo  in which the irregularity and imperfections of the recovered wood translate into aesthetic details and character.

Cedar

Molletta by Riva 1920

The cedar of Lebanon is a species native to the Near East but since the end of the eighteenth century it has also been brought and cultivated in Italy. It is a tree that grows relatively quickly, but unfortunately it is subject to natural events such as landslides, landslides and thunderstorms that cause it to fall. Riva 1920, recovers precisely the wood of trees felled by natural causes and felling carried out for safety reasons, in particular in Piedmont and Lombardy. What characterizes this wood is resistance but also the intense balsamic smell. In the image, the Molletta  bench by Baldessari and Baldessari.

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