'I didn't want to create something just to sit on a coffee table. It is a reflection on the many different elements that help explain how B&B Italia sustained its contemporary identity,’ says the Milan-based editor Stefano Casciani of the epic tome he co-curated with Italian architect Paola Bellani to mark the 50th anniversary of the Italian furniture powerhouse.
The beautifully executed 360-page book, divided into four hefty chapters with elegant graphics by Pitis e Associati, is aimed at a wide audience, from architects to design enthusiasts, chronicling how the cultural context of the day inspired entrepreneurial founder Piero Ambrogio Busnelli’s strategy of combining innovation, technology and communication with style and design.
‘He was constantly looking forward to what was coming next, so in creating the book we wanted it to be a tool for people interested in design and wanting to understand how industrial production of contemporary furniture works,’ Casciani explains.
The book also offers an in-depth study and visual feast for fans of B&B Italia’s most iconic works, from the 'Le Bambole' sofa by Mario Bellini to the 'Grande Papilio' armchair by Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa. Much of the material is drawn from the company’s extensive (and often previously unseen) archives and includes intriguing personal design insights from some of the renowned designers it commissioned.
B&B Italia’s campus (home to the company’s first factory, designed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa) and its Renzo Piano-designed headquarters (illustrated by architecture photographer Iwan Baan’s striking images) offers an unusual behind-the-scenes glimpse of the production process.
The final chapter concludes with a salutary lesson in the visual narrative of design, exploring the company’s famed visual communication, from controversial photography to the company’s stores around the world.
The book is currently available in Italian and English versions from the B&B Italia store in Milan and will be available in bookstores worldwide from this September.
The beautifully executed 360-page book, divided into four hefty chapters, features elegant graphics by Pitis e Associati
The tome is aimed at a wide audience – from architects to design enthusiasts – chronicling how the cultural context of the day inspired entrepreneurial founder Piero Ambrogio Busnelli’s strategy of combining innovation, technology and communication with style and design
Much of the material is drawn from the company’s extensive (and often previously unseen) archives and includes intriguing personal design insights from some of the renowned designers it commissioned
The book also offers an in-depth study and visual feast for fans of B&B Italia’s most iconic works, from the ’Le Bambole’ sofa by Mario Bellini to the ’Grande Papilio’ armchair by Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa
Pictured left: Stefano Casciani. Right: Bellini, Le Bambole, by Oliviero Toscani
B&B Italia’s campus (pictured) and its Renzo Piano-designed headquarters (illustrated by architecture photographer Iwan Baan’s striking images) offers an unusual behind-the-scenes glimpse of the production process
The final chapter concludes with a salutary lesson in the visual narrative of design, exploring the company’s famed visual communication from controversial photography to the company’s stores around the world. Pictured: ’Pouf & table configuration’, by B&B Italia, 2013
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the B&B Italia website
-
What are polynucleotides? Trying the skin injectable made from salmon spermPolynucleotides are the latest in skin injectables, containing DNA derived from the gonads of salmon. Wallpaper* Beauty & Grooming Editor Hannah Tindle tries them to discover exactly how they work
-
Josèfa Ntjam on her surreal utopias in VeniceArtist Josèfa Ntjam and LAS Foundation bring other worlds to life with ‘swell of spæc(i)es’ at Palazzina Canonica during the Venice Biennale 2024
-
Henry Wood House’s postmodernist bones are refreshed by Nice Projects in LondonNice Projects breathes new life into the Henry Wood House in London, offering ample flexible office spaces for modern workers
-
‘Package Holiday 1968-1985’: a very British love affair in pictures‘Package Holiday’ recalls tans, table tennis and Technicolor in Trevor Clark’s wistful snaps of sun-seeking Brits
-
‘Art Exposed’: Julian Spalding on everything that’s wrong with the art worldIn ‘Art Exposed’, Julian Spalding draws on his 40 years in the art world – as a museum director, curator, and critic – for his series of essays
-
Marisol Mendez's ‘Madre’ unpicks the woven threads of Bolivian womanhoodFrom ancestry to protest, how Marisol Mendez’s 'Madre' is rewriting the narrative of Bolivian womanhood
-
Triennale Milano exhibition spotlights contemporary Italian artThe latest Triennale Milano exhibition, ‘Italian Painting Today’, is a showcase of artworks from the last three years
-
Walls, Windows and Blood: Catherine Opie in NaplesCatherine Opie's new exhibition ‘Walls, Windows and Blood’ is now on view at Thomas Dane Gallery, Naples
-
Raffaele Salvoldi stacks hundreds of marble blocks for dazzling Milan installationFor a Milan Design Week 2023 installation, Italian artist Raffaele Salvoldi teams up with marble brand Salvatori to create architectural sculptures comprising hundreds of marble blocks
-
Photo book explores the messy, magical mundanity of new motherhood‘Sorry I Gave Birth I Disappeared But Now I’m Back’ by photographer Andi Galdi Vinko explores new motherhood in all its messy, beautiful reality
-
Best contemporary art books: a guide for 2023From maverick memoirs to topical tomes, turn over a new leaf with the Wallpaper* arts desk’s pick of new releases and all-time favourite art books
