The Donghia Brownstone: Over 30 Replicas from Iconic Furniture Design Company Showcased in 3D Print

Angelo Donghia may have died in 1985 but the vision for his furniture studio lives on, undeniably, as their team today continues to create austere and classic pieces delivering us into the future, fabricated with the most contemporary resources at hand–and definitely shown off to the world in the most innovative and visually exciting ways.

While Donghia, Inc. encompasses numerous entities that produce furniture, textiles, wallcoverings, lighting, and accessories–as well as representing numerous brands– it is Donghia Furniture, certainly, which is known best. With forty years in existence, the company now boasts twelve showrooms across the United States, with showrooms around the world–and a long resume of filling rooms and homes for the rich and famous.

The Donghia team’s mission is to represent ‘A Well Tailored Life.’ This harkens back to Dhongia’s beginnings in Pennsylvania, born the son of a tailor, and exhibiting a superior talent in the trade early on. He rose up as one of top designers of the 70s–and as the interior designer for the world of celebrities, he also became one himself. Decades after he has passed, Donghia Furniture continues to evolve, especially under the charge of creative director Chuck Chewning, who encourages numerous new technologies in the design process itself.

“Donghia furniture ranges from upholstered sofas, chairs, tables and case pieces.  The furniture combines both glamour and simplicity through the use of the finest materials and detailing,” states the Donghia team on their website. “Upholstered furniture features hand-tied springs, hand-sculptured interiors, and solid hardwood frames constructed with wood joints and dowels.”

Now, all of these qualities are being showcased in intricate, charming miniature, thanks to the technology of 3D printing. While this technology offers a host of benefits to a wide range of industries, offering the ability for production of high-quality components–faster and even better–it’s uses in areas like architecture and construction are becoming quite vast as well–and especially for engineers and designers just in the beginning stages, creating prototypes and complex miniatures as projects gain a foundation and proceed forward into reality. 3D printing is not only adding to the creation process at Donghia, but in a recent project it was used to create miniatures that are a work in themselves.

Under the direction of Stephen Levine, visual merchandising director, and Gabriele Rosina, Industrial Designer, the team has created The Donghia Brownstone.

“Residing in the lobby of the famed D&D Building, the Donghia Brownstone reflects the design and offerings of Donghia’s collections of furniture, textiles, lighting and accessories – a brand at the forefront of the luxury home furnishings industry,” Laura Steele, marketing director at Donghi, told 3DPrint.com.

Offering a look at 30 replicas of Donghia products, Levine and his design team 3D printed the replicas on their Makerbot Replicator 5th Generation 3D printer in black and white PLA. Each piece was finished and assembled by hand. Steele explained that for each piece, like the classic club chair seen in the images, around seven hours of 3D printing was required.

Each piece offers a great look into the typical ‘less is more’ design approach that Donghia was known for–especially highlighted in miniature. While meticulous attention is paid to the actual pieces that end up in the homes and offices of clients, that’s also to be seen on the smaller scale in the Brownstone project which offers a comprehensive look–a panorama–at all the luxuriousness and comfort that can be offered with their furniture, meant to be handed down through the generations.  Discuss these incredible designs in the 3D Printed Donghia Furniture forum thread on 3DPB.com.