Living legends: B&B Italia

At this year's edition of Fuorisalone in Milan, B&B Italia had quite a number of new products on show. What they all have in common is a clear vision – one that is still obvious in the final designs.

So let's start our survey with the modular sofa system "Dock", designed by Piero Lissoni, that is aimed at a younger audience. With no less than 84 elements, it offers numerous possibilities for arrangement. An "oasis of life to be used for pure relaxation”, is how Lissoni refers to it. He also designed a round side-table named "Spool", which is available in eighteen glossy-lacquered colours.

His colleague, London-based designer Michael Anastassiades presented an extended version of his bookcase system "Jack" and a new table called "Parallel Structure". Here, two imposing aluminium bars joined by two side supports result in a minimalist object, also with various sizes and top materials (Canaletto walnut and four variants of oak) to choose from. Anastassiades comments: "This design focuses on expressing the table´s structural elements to accentuate its rudimentary geometries”.

The Belgian designer Vincent van Duysen conceived the armchair "Pablo" that uses two layers of cowhide with light seat padding, which is barely visible, but certainly felt by the person sitting in it. Last, but not least, the "Diesis" sofa by Antonio Citterio and Paolo Nava is celebrating its 40th anniversary and has been given a makeover in terms of design and details for this occasion. The leather of the "Diesis 40" edition now has a Saffiano texture, while the cushions have been updated and feature more comfortable padding. Its reinforced seams and other techniques borrowed from saddlery may only be noticed at second glance. Even with its further reduced seat structure, in the end, the general appearance of the classic is assuredly unchanged.

© Architonic