'50 Years and Beyond': B&B Italia celebrates half a century with a new tome
'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.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the B&B Italia website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Catherine Shaw is a writer, editor and consultant specialising in architecture and design. She has written and contributed to over ten books, including award-winning monographs on art collector and designer Alan Chan, and on architect William Lim's Asian design philosophy. She has also authored books on architect André Fu, on Turkish interior designer Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu, and on Beijing-based OPEN Architecture's most significant cultural projects across China.
-
Art Basel returns to Paris: here is everything to see and do
Art Basel Paris 2024 (18 - 20 October 2024) returns, opening at the newly renovated Grand Palais
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
PAD London’s 16th edition is a blisteringly optimistic case for human achievement
At PAD London, collectible design is more than rarefied furniture; it is a compelling case for the uplifting power of craftsmanship at the dawn of the AI revolution
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
Aston Martin bring the Midas touch to their super tourer with the DB12 Goldfinger Edition
Released in honour of the sixtieth anniversary of the iconic James Bond film, Aston Martin has gone all out to the DB12 Goldfinger Edition a worthy collector’s item for high rolling film fans
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
‘Gas Tank City’, a new monograph by Andrew Holmes, is a photorealist eye on the American West
‘Gas Tank City’ chronicles the artist’s journey across truck-stop America, creating meticulous drawings of fleeting moments
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
'I’m So Happy You Are Here': discover the work of Japanese women photographers
Subtitled ‘Japanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now’, this new monograph from Aperture is a fascinating insight into a critically overlooked body of work
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
How the west won: Ivan McClellan is amplifying the intrepid beauty of Black cowboy culture
In his new book, 'Eight Seconds: Black Cowboy Culture', Ivan McClellan draws us into the world of Black rodeo. Wallpaper* meets the photographer ahead of his Juneteenth Rodeo
By Tracy Kawalik Published
-
‘I just don't like eggs!’: Andrea Fraser unpacks the art market
Artist Andrea Fraser’s retrospective ‘I just don't like eggs!’ at Fondazione Antonio dalle Nogare, Italy, explores what really makes the art market tick
By Sofia Hallström Published
-
‘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
By Caragh McKay Published
-
‘Art Exposed’: Julian Spalding on everything that’s wrong with the art world
In ‘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
By Alfred Tong Published
-
Marisol Mendez's ‘Madre’ unpicks the woven threads of Bolivian womanhood
From ancestry to protest, how Marisol Mendez’s 'Madre' is rewriting the narrative of Bolivian womanhood
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Triennale Milano exhibition spotlights contemporary Italian art
The latest Triennale Milano exhibition, ‘Italian Painting Today’, is a showcase of artworks from the last three years
By Tianna Williams Published