Francesco Rota was born in 1966 in Milan. He is the grandson of the owners of SAFAR, a historic radio and TV equipment company in business from 1923 to 1948. In 1991, after gaining some professional experience, he enrolled at the Art Center College of Design in La Tour de Peilz, Switzerland, where he graduated in 1994. From the outset, Rota did not limit his aspirations to industrial design but worked in various sectors ranging from product to interior design, lighting and fittings. Always striving for comfort, simplicity and function, Rota boasts important collaborations with international brands, including Bals Tokyo, Barilla, Driade, Fiat, Frag, John Richmond, Knoll International, Living Divani, L'Oreal Paris, Malo, Martini & Rossi, Moroso and Versus. He created installations for Daimler Chrysler Mercedes Benz during the 8th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice (2004) at Le Corderie dell'Arsenale and the 'Terrazza Martini' for Martini & Rossi during the 62nd International Film Festival in Venice (2005).
His passion for sailing became a source of inspiration during his collaboration - established in 1997 - with Paola Lenti; weaving nautical lines into fabric became the basis of their successful furnishing accessories. With Paola Lenti, he won the Compasso d'Oro ADI Honourable Mention in 2001 and 2004 for the Linea and Island chairs. In 2014, he received the Special Mention at the German Design Award with the Daydream collection, while Smile and Frame won the MIAW (MUUUZ International Design Awards). One year later, he won the Red Dot Award in the Product Design category, the German Design Award in the Excellent Product Design category and the Good Design Award for Furniture with the Move sofa. That same year he also received the Special Mention at the German Design Award in the Excellent Product Design category for the Kanji table. Awards and mentions continued in 2017 with Uptown (Good Design Award in the Furniture category) and Agio, which won the ADA Archiproducts Design Awards.
Rota's association with Lapalma - a furniture components company founded by Dario and Romano Marcato - of which he became art director in 2013, was a crucial step in the designer's career. In addition to introducing new products, he strengthened the brand's visibility in foreign markets. For Lapalma, he curated fittings for the Salone del Mobile and IMM Cologne. His first product lines were the OLO and CUT chairs. The ADD collection earned him a Compasso d'Oro Honourable Mention and the Red Dot Design Award in 2016 with a seating and backrest system for waiting areas or lounges. Since 2008, he has designed tables, coffee tables, bookcases, beds and sofas for LEMA, using high-quality materials and essential forms. With Oluce, he created refined and expressive lamps such as Canopy, Kin, Lens and Line; he is also responsible for the interior design of the offices, showroom and warehouse of the Oluce Milan factory and headquarters. His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions and at renowned institutions, including St. Etienne Biennale du Design, Hannover Messe, Triennale di Milano, Reggia di Venaria Reale in Turin, Moss and Material Connection in New York, the Biennale di Architettura in Venice, Royal Academy of Arts in London, The Merchandise Mart in Chicago, Miami Design District, Biltmore Fashion Park in Phoenix, Bellerive Museum in Zurich.
