Leather Sofa "Alanda" by Paolo Piva for B&B Italia / C&B Italia, 1980s
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Leather Sofa "Alanda" by Paolo Piva for B&B Italia / C&B Italia, 1980s
About the Item
- Creator:Paolo Piva (Designer),B&B Italia (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.53 in (75 cm)Width: 78.75 in (200 cm)Depth: 35.44 in (90 cm)Seat Height: 17.72 in (45 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:1980s
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. Very good conditions, only signs of use on the leather seats. Refinishing on the seats realized. PLEASE, ASK US FOR EXACT MEASURES AND SHIPPING.
- Seller Location:taranto, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5829225342112
Paolo Piva
Juxtaposing sleek curves with angular, geometric shapes, the sophisticated minimalism of Paolo Piva’s furniture made him one of the most significant mid-century modern designers. Using understated, classic materials such as patent leather and glass, he created furniture that is as timeless as the buildings he designed as an internationally renowned architect. Piva’s armchairs, floor lamps and other furniture pieces were built to withstand changing tastes.
Born in 1950 in Adria in northern Italy, Piva pursued his career in design and architecture at the International University of the Arts in Venice under renowned architect Carlo Scarpa. While a student, he also worked with the Akademie für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna and the Institute of History and Architecture in Venice to create a major exhibition on Viennese architecture during the socialist period.
Gaining notice during his graduate studies in Rome, Piva established himself as an up-and-coming architect. In 1980, he emerged on the international scene with an acclaimed design for the Kuwait Embassy in Qatar, which led to design commissions for buildings and factories across Western Europe. At the same time, Piva began designing furniture that reflected the clean lines and artful forms of his building style. His most popular piece was the Pyramid coffee table, with inverted pyramids supporting a glass top.
A lifelong academic, Piva began teaching at the Akademie für Angewandte Kunst in 1988, becoming a full professor in 1991. He also collaborated with top brands, including Poliform, de Sede, B&B Italia, Wittmann and Riva 1920, designing center tables, club chairs and other furniture items. He continued his design pursuits throughout his life, traveling to conferences and exhibitions internationally up until his death in 2017.
Piva gained a nomination for the Compasso d’Oro award in 1987 and was one of the architects selected to design the Science and Technology Park in Vienna in 1995. His work has been exhibited at Galerie Ulysses in Vienna and the Architekturgalerie München in Munich, as well as in the VI Mostra internazionale di Architettura della Biennale di Buenos Aires.
On 1stDibs, delve into the graceful simplicity and elegant geometry of Paolo Piva’s lighting, tables, seating, and other furniture and collectibles.
B&B Italia
In 1966, Piero Ambrogio Busnelli cofounded C&B Italia, a modern Italian furniture manufacturer, with Cesare Cassina in northern Milan. From the outset, Busnelli and Cassina set about recruiting the most talented modernists in Italy to conceive of creative furnishings manufactured in modern ways. In the early 1970s, the company split, with Cassina founding his own eponymous firm and Busnelli taking leadership of what became B&B Italia.
For decades, Busnelli cultivated relationships with the world’s best design talent, resulting in furniture pieces that remain iconic today — be they Gaetano Pesce’s outwardly curvaceous Up seating (made for C&B, reintroduced by B&B) or tables from industrial designer Paolo Piva, each more sophisticated than the next in their geometrically complex steel-tube bases. B&B Italia earned four prestigious Compasso d’Oro design awards: in 1979 for Mario Bellini’s Le Bambole, in 1984 for the Sisamo wardrobe system by Studio Kairos, in 1987 for Antonio Citterio’s modular Sity sofa and, in 1989, the first award given to a manufacturing company itself.
Other notable names who designed for B&B Italia over the course of its 54-year history include Patricia Urquiola, Naoto Fukasawa, Zaha Hadid, Ettore Sottsass and Vincent Van Duysen, to name a very few. And while these names bring star power to the B&B brand, in many cases, it was B&B Italia who helped usher in their celebrity, fostering a wave of design talent on the world stage.
The company’s forward-thinking vision manifested in its own headquarters, too: In 1972, B&B Italia tapped architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers to design a steel-framed, postmodern-style home for the brand, whose crisscrossing metal exoskeleton is reminiscent of the pair’s Centre Pompidou in Paris, which was built at roughly the same time. Now, B&B Italia manages a contract division and outdoor section as well as its residential arm, and it also controls production for Maxalto, a brand spun out with furniture designs by Antonio Citterio.
At 1stDibs, find a range of vintage B&B Italia furniture — including sofas, cocktail tables and more.
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- Paolo Piva, Alanda, Sofa, B&B Italia, 1980sBy Paolo Piva, B&B ItaliaLocated in Paris, FRPaolo Piva Alanda A rectangular two-seater sofa with mobile headrests and armrests covered with its multicolored original fabric upholstery. Original edition by B&B Italia. With B&B Italia label. Italy. Circa 1980. Dimensions Height : 74 cm With headrests raised : 88 cm Width : 210 cm With armrests raised : 194 cm Depth : 106 cm With headrests raised : 86 cm Height of seat : 42 cm Literature Domus 633, November 1982, p.26-29 Domus 634, December 1982, p.22-23 Giuliana Gramigna, Repertorio del design italiano 1950-2000 per l'arredamento domestico, Umberto Allemandi, 2003, p.277 Mario Mastropietro, Rolando Gorla, Un’industria per il design : la ricerca i designers, l’immagine B&B Italia, Edizioni Lybra Immagine, Milano, 1986, p.394-397. Paolo Piva Paolo Piva was born in Adria in 1950. He studied architecture at the Venice Istituto Universitario di Architettura under the direction of Carlo Scarpa and Carlo Aymonino. He practiced architecture and industrial design mainly in Italy and Austria. In 1990, he became a professor at the Hochschule für Angewande Kunst in Vienna. He designed factories in Italy, such as in Misinto for B&B Italia, galeries such as Schullin in Vienna for which he was awarded the « Adolf Loos » prize in 1994. In 1996, he designed book-shops and cafeterias for the Venetian Civic Museums. The same year, he participated in the 6th International Exhibition of Architecture at the Venice Biennale. Alanda The idea behind the Alanda was to create a « mobile » piece of furniture. Developed with the B&B Research Centre, the mechanism allows different positions following the changing needs of the user. « Alanda was conceived as an open object...Category
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