Celebrating the beauty of outdoor living
Published
Since its launch 15 years ago, B&B Italia’s outdoor range has gone from strength-to-strength, delivering cutting-edge design and sustainability, and challenging people’s perceptions of what outdoor furniture can be.
An icon in contemporary furnishings, B&B Italia launched its outdoor range in 2007 with the goal of creating outdoor furniture that replicated the excellence of their indoor colections. Today, the company’s upscale pieces made from weatherproof materials can be found in homes and luxury resorts throughout the world, sought after for their uncompromising attention to detail and superior quality.
Over the last 15 years, 13 outstanding international designers have contributed to the creation of more than 40 collections, giving shape to B&B Italia Outdoor’s eclectic range featuring bold, iconic pieces, each setting a new standard in its category.
Creating milestones in design and innovation: B&B Italia Outdoor
It all began with Patricia Urquiola’s Canasta, the first collection of outdoor sofas launched in 2007, which continues to impress to this day with its polyethylene macro weave based on a classic geometric woven pattern called Vienna Straw. Urquiola also designed the iconic Crinoline collection of outdoor seats, which creates its signature style with enveloping, feminine lines and three-dimensional interlacing.
Beyond outdoor sofas and chairs, B&B Italia Outdoor has pushed the boundaries in other product categories as well. Tobi-Ishi Outdoor by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, for example, is an iconic round dining table, inspired by Zen, that was original designed for indoor use then remastered in cement for the outdoors. Continuing the theme of renewal, Titikaka designed by Naoto Fukasawa utilises curved wooden slats to revamp the outdoor bench into a sculptural masterpiece. Fukasawa’s work continues with Ayana, a collection of natural teak structures that reflect a unique hybrid of Eastern styles and Scandi accents.
Antonio Citterio’s is another notable collaborator, creating many successful designs marked by aesthetic and technical innovation. The Hybrid sofa, for instance, stands out immediately due to its curved lines and generous padding, providing the comfort usually offered only by indoor sofas. In contrast, Mirto Outdoor, a complete collection of seats, tables and coffee tables, is characterised by its visually light frame and minimalist design that can adapt to a variety of contexts.
Bringing sustainability into frame
Since its very first collections, a focus on sustainability has been of intrinsic importance to B&B Italia. When developing projects, the company considers the product’s entire lifecycle, looking for opportunities to use recycled and recyclable materials, and supporting reuse with structures that can be easily disassembled.
With its use of materials made up of recycled and recyclable polymers, 2011’s Husk Outdoor was the first project to go in a sustainable direction. Among the latest releases in this vein, Piero Lissoni’s Borea is a new series of chairs and tables composed of tubular structures in aluminium, a light and functional material that is long-lasting and recyclable. Its cushions are made of polyester fibre obtained from recycled PET bottles, while its table surfaces are glazed with a special eco-glass made by recycling glass from old monitors.
Available from Space Furniture
Setting the benchmark for design retailing, Space Furniture carries a diverse range of products that perform in all types of environments. The first choice for many in the architecture and design community, the team at Space Furniture display a high level of expertise when suggesting products, deftly balancing aesthetics, durability and sustainability to deliver solutions that suit you. With showrooms in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Space Furniture distributes these remarkable B&B Italia outdoor collections to the Australian market. For more information, visit the Space Furniture website here.
Space Furniture
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