Be in your element: Ribes by B&B Italia

The versatility of the B&B Italia Outdoor collection has been greatly enhanced by the addition this year of Ribes. An elegant, modular, multifaceted seating system dreamt up by Antonio Citterio, Ribes comprises a huge variety of elements — linear and modular sofas in different sizes, chaises longues and ottomans — that can be creatively reconfigured in countless ways according to personal taste.

Supported by an informal-looking aluminium frame with fibreglass slats reminiscent of a futon base, Ribes has two backrest options — one in woven polypropylene, the other a more casual bolster. Its streamlined frame and enticing, plump upholstery come in serene, earthy hues with Mediterranean overtones: sage green, red clay and anthracite grey. The seat is luxuriously deep, while cushions stuffed with a special filling have softly contoured outlines.

A vast choice of upholstery fabrics with refined stripes or dots or in plain colours — inspired by textiles spotted during research trips to South America and reinterpreted in a contemporary way — add to the design’s flexibility. Bestowing yet more character on Ribes is an array of trim colours; used as piping, these give a crisp, structural clarity to the cushions’ relaxed forms.

Ribes appeals for its protean quality: it can morph from corner seating to divan, from sofa to comfortable bed. Its cultural references are intriguingly ambiguous — its bolsters and predominantly horizontal forms recall the languid chaises longues of the 18th and 19th-century Neoclassical era yet its comfortable, squashy upholstery summons up laid-back 21st-century living. Such ambiguity is evident too in the places Ribes is conceived for, namely areas that are neither strictly indoors nor out — from loggias and verandas to covered terraces.

© Architonic