Gae Aulenti’s 1965 Marble Jumbo Table Still Has Outsize Appeal
Photo: Arianna Lago
“Whatever you design, whether it is an interior, a piece of furniture, or merely a stage set, must always contain the promise of a whole city,” the Italian architect Gae Aulenti told Architectural Digest for a story about her Milanese apartment in 1990.
By that point, she had turned a train station in Paris into the Musée d’Orsay, designed galleries at the Centre Pompidou, and restored the Palazzo Grassi in Venice. But in 1965, after a 10-year stint crafting the visual identity of Casabella magazine, she was still working on a smaller scale—creating residential interiors and furniture to inhabit them. This was the year she conceived the so-called Jumbo table, a square slab of marble that rests on what resemble four extruded dumbbells. Set at 45-degree angles, those legs lent the heavyweight table structural heft. It’s one of several dozen pieces that star in the Aulenti retrospective on view at the Triennale Milano through January 12, 2025.
The precise inspiration for this subtly postmodern form isn’t clear. “Jumbo reflects her interiors in those years,” muses Nina Artioli, Aulenti’s granddaughter and the director of her archive. “In a lot of the houses she designed, the table was of great importance—always very big. It wasn’t just a design piece but a structural element for the house.”
Aulenti’s 1965 table, created for the Italian company Gavina, was acquired by the American brand Knoll in 1972. When Aulenti was tapped to appoint two of their showrooms in Boston and then in New York, Jumbo made its Stateside debut, earning acclaim among an international set of tastemakers. It remains a staple among creatives, from interior and fashion designers to pop stars, who praise its chameleon qualities. “I appreciate its solid, monolithic appearance,” says designer Giampiero Tagliaferri, who has one in his Los Angeles living room. Meanwhile, Paris-based interiors talent Fabrizio Casiraghi applauds its limitless functionality: “You can dine, place wine, rest your feet, stack magazines, even dance on this table.”
Gae Aulenti Carrara Marble Jumbo Table for Knoll
$14600.00, 1st Dibs
Gae Aulenti Rosso Alicante Marble Jumbo Table for Knoll
$25000.00, 1st Dibs
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
More Great Stories From AD
Sign up for our daily newsletter to get the best of design in your inbox.
Tour a Dallas Dwelling That Marries History With Modernity in Refreshing Ways
The Need for Sustainable School Architecture Is More Important Than Ever
This Rambling Chelsea Townhouse Conveys Intimate Serenity Through Spatial Alchemy
Jennifer Aniston’s Houses: Inside the Friends Star’s Multimillion Dollar Real Estate Portfolio
Get On Our Level—These Are the Best Bookshelves We've Tested & Reviewed
Ashley Tisdale Dishes on Her New Rug Collection and Nesting Before Baby Number Two
This Bohemian Outdoor Oasis in Dimes Square Came Together for $5,500
Not a subscriber? Join AD for print and digital access now.
