Born in Milan in 1939, Piero De Martini is an architect and industrial designer known for pairing structural clarity with light, flexible materials. After graduating in architecture in 1964, he practiced in residential building and conservation, then turned to design in 1969. In 1975 he began a long, fruitful collaboration with Cassina, developing the modular ash-wood program “La Barca” and, over subsequent years, a series of domestic furnishings shaped through close dialogue with craftsmen and rigorous prototyping. In lighting, his research into tensioned textiles and minimal frameworks culminated in the 1980s with “Le Falene” for Arteluce. In parallel, De Martini studied piano and pursued musicology; he has authored volumes for Il Saggiatore on Chopin, Schumann, Brahms and Mahler, alongside earlier studies on Alpine choral traditions. This cross-disciplinary practice—design informed by musical cadence—underpins a body of work that remains influential in Italian design.