The Green Revolution of 1971: Why the Gufram Pratone is Still Growing?
- Casey Tan
- Apr 30
- 3 min read
In the history of interior design, few objects have managed to be as genuinely shocking, subversive, and joyful as the Pratone. Created in 1971 by Giorgio Ceretti, Pietro Derossi, and Riccardo Rosso for Gufram, this "long-haired" lounge chair didn't just break the rules of furniture—it mowed them down.
Decades after its debut, the Pratone remains the ultimate symbol of Anti-Design, a radical middle finger to the rigid functionalism of the mid-century modern era.
A Radical Concept: Sitting on Nature
The Pratone (Italian for "Large Meadow") is a sensory experience before it is a seat. It consists of a square base from which 42 long, soft blades of grass rise. These aren't just decorative; they are flexible stems of polyurethane foam, hand-finished with Guflac—Gufram's patented "skin" that allows the foam to remain flexible and durable while appearing solid.
To "sit" in a Pratone is to disappear. You don't sit on it; you sink into it, pushing aside the oversized blades to find a hidden nest. It forces the user into a state of play, mimicking the childhood wonder of lying in a tall field of grass.
The Architecture of Rebellion
The Pratone was born during the Italian Radical Design movement. Designers were tired of furniture that looked like machines or status symbols. They wanted "Functional Art."
The Pratone represents a radical departure from traditional design by utilizing decontextualization, magnifying a simple blade of grass to a monstrous scale to force a surrealist perspective on the natural world.
This "death of the chair" replaced legs, backrests, and fixed orientations with an immersive domestic landscape, effectively transforming a piece of functional equipment into an interactive environment. Yet, beneath its playful pop-culture exterior lies a feat of artisanal industrialism; each of the forty-two foam blades is meticulously inserted by hand in a process that takes weeks, solidifying the piece as a masterpiece of Italian craftsmanship.
The "Material Renaissance" and the Pratone Forever
As we move through 2026, the Pratone is experiencing a massive resurgence. In an era obsessed with "Biophilic Design" (bringing nature indoors), the Pratone offers a surrealist, high-performance alternative to the standard potted plant.
Gufram has kept the legend alive through various iterations, including the Pratone Forever, a more compact version covered in a special elastic fabric, and the Nordic Pratone, which swapped the vibrant "Gufram Green" for a snowy white.
"The Pratone is a radical act of freedom," says the Gufram archive. "It is an invitation to be idle, to be unstructured, and to be entirely oneself."
Why It Matters Today
In a world of minimalist "beige-ness" and digital fatigue, the Pratone stands as a towering, neon-green reminder that design should be fun. It is a piece of "Functional Art" that demands a reaction. Whether it’s placed in a high-end gallery or a daring residential living room, it remains a conversation starter that hasn't aged a day since 1971.
Our Verdict: The Pratone doesn't just fill a room—it colonizes it with imagination. It is the definitive proof that sometimes, to move forward in design, you have to go back to the grass roots.
Contact us at gufram@objective.rocks to specify Gufram collections for your projects, represent Gufram in your showroom, or to purchase the Gufram Pratone.
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