Roberto Barbieri was an Italian architect and designer born in Milan in 1942. He graduated in architecture from the Politecnico di Milano in 1969 and began his professional activity that same year, working across design, graphics, and architecture in collaboration with architect Marco De Carli. Between 1970 and 1975, he participated in exhibitions focused on furniture, domestic space, and public living environments, helping shape a design language grounded in rigor, utility, and formal balance.
From the 1980s onward, Barbieri worked in product design and art direction for leading furniture companies, developing pieces admired for their quiet sophistication and architectural precision. He collaborated with Zanotta from 1994 and also designed for brands including Poliform, where his work reflected a distinctly Italian sensibility: rational, polished, and deeply attentive to how objects inhabit space. His legacy endures through seating and tables that feel composed, timeless, and exceptionally well resolved. He died in 2012.
