B&B Italia Furniture

B&B Italia have been a leader in the contemporary furniture design field ever since their formation in 1966. Since then, the B&B Italia furniture collection, and indeed the company themselves, have won worldwide acclaim as an ambassador for Italian designer furniture - for homes (B&B Italia Homes Division) and public areas (B&B Italia Contract Division). B&B Italia have their main headquarters north of Milan, housed in a prestigious building designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers.

The B&B Italia collection is a result of the brand's ability to reflect contemporary culture and react to - indeed be proactive in - the evolving needs generated by today's lifestyles, while at the same time retain the core values that have served the company so well. This mix of creativity, innovative thinking and premium craftsmanship and production enable B&B Italia to produce modern yet timeless pieces of furniture.

B&B Italia collaborate and work with international designers to leave it's own distinctive mark on the pieces that it produces. Each design is unique; a result of research, creativity and function. The importance of research, always an fundamental part of the development of the B&B Italia brand, is evident in the company's extensive in house research and development centre.

To provide the highest possible quality has always been one of B&B Italia's main goals - the aesthetic, design and of course the manufacture and production of each piece must be the highest possible standard. This necessitates in depth research into the materials used and analysis of the characterisitcs of each.

Quality can be interpreted into good looking, comfortable furniture that offers a long usuable life span. Each element is afforded the same care and precision - the visible part of a sofa is given the same attention to detail as the hidden seams, for example. To guarantee quality, B&B Italia has earned Quality Control certification for its design, production, sales and customer service.

As is so often the case with a primarily aesthetic product, 'looks' take centre stage - form over function. However, B&B Italia consider the structural and technological qualities of a piece to be just as important as the product's aesthetic. This can be traced to B&B Italia's industrial and technological heritage and primarily the matching of creativity with practicality.

B&B Italia utilise technology in two key ways - firstly, to improve efficiency levels by incoporating the latest materials and production techniques. Secondly, the reward to the customer in terms of increased product quality and comfort. B&B have favoured several different processes, including cold polyurethane foam mouldings and notably the manufacture of metal sofa frames with a ten year guarantee.

Design: Antonio Citterio

'One and several sofas' - this is the principle behind the B&B Italia Charles modular sofa. With its versatile seating arrangements, Charles can be used as either a linear or corner piece; indeed, with the clever use of chaise longue pieces, it can be used as a feature island in the centre of a room.

Each seating piece is comprised of a single seat cushion along with a number of free cushions as the backrest. The aluminium feet lend the piece a decidedly modern feel, and the large number of fabric finishes ensure that this extremely versatile piece will sit well in almost any contemporary living space.

Design: Patricia Urquiola

The B&B Italia Tufty harks back to the iconic Chesterfield sofa, and revisits the grandiose while keeping a foot firmly in informal modernity. The informal comes from the almost endless variations in layout that can be achieved by Tufty's modular units. The ottoman, the starting unit in the piece, can be matched with other corner, central and end units with either low or high armrests. These combinations can be used to form traditional sofas, chaise longue sofas, corner sofas and even central island units.

Design: Patricia Urquiola

Distinctive by its sinuous, almost muscular shaping, the Bend sofa almost gives the impression of being carved or sculpted. It is in reality the result of studies 3d models and extensive digital research, combined with sound manufacturing principles - the B&B Italia combination of old and new. The organic line is created by combining full and empty spaces to emphasise movement, and this is underscored by the contrast stitching the flows along the surface. The back of the sofa is again irregularly shaped without compromising comfort and practicality.

Seats, ottoman and corner pieces can be combined to form flexible compositions that enhance the organic fluidity, or alternatively given order by being constrained into straight lines or corner sets. Its is of course available in a variety of finishes to make the combinations of shape and colour almost endless.

Design: Naoto Fukasawa

A single, fluid piece with a strong presence and personality, B&B Italia's Grande Papilio is fundamentally a design shaped from an inverted cone. The higher part of the back provides a level of comfort and support, and the discreet swivel system allows the piece to rotate through 360 degrees.

In addition to the armchair, a footrest complements the design perfectly in addition to enhancing comfort and support.