Tobia + Afra Scarpa

Italian born husband and wife duo Tobia and Afra Scarpa’s design work knew no bounds. They crafted cook­ware, archi­tec­ture, inte­rior design, furni­ture, cloth­ing, and art glass with a keen eye for mate­r­ial, tech­nol­ogy and aesthet­ics that sustains the test of trends and time.

The son of archi­tect and acad­e­mic Carlo Scarpa, Tobia was born in Venice, Italy in 1935. Afra Bianchin was born in Monte­bel­luna, Italy in 1937. Both attended the Univer­sity Iuav di Venezia, grad­u­at­ing with archi­tec­tural degrees in 1957. Carlo worked as a glass designer for Murano glass­works from 1957 – 1960. Together, the Scarpas opened their own design office in Afra’s home town in 1960. By 1969, both Tobia and Afra Scarpa grad­u­ated from the Venice Insti­tute of Archi­tec­ture, with Afra Scarpa winning a Compasso d’Oro award the follow­ing year for the Soriana armchair. 

They collab­o­rated with indus­trial design manu­fac­tur­ers through­out their careers, includ­ing work with B&B Italia, San Lorenzo Silver, Knoll Inter­na­tional, Gavina, Cassina, Meri­talia, Flos, Fabbian, and Veas. Their designs are on show in the leading museums of the world, includ­ing the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and have been chosen for all major international shows.