"Metropolitan" Armchair by Jeffrey Bernett for B&B Italia
About the Item
- Creator:B&B Italia (Manufacturer),Jeffrey Bernett (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 35 in (88.9 cm)Width: 38 in (96.52 cm)Depth: 32 in (81.28 cm)Seat Height: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)
- Style:Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2002
- Condition:Reupholstered. Wear consistent with age and use. The chair was recently reupholstered, the seat seems to be a bit loose from the base.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU881734457992
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: Los Angeles, CA
- Return Policy
More From This Seller
View All2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Textile, Wood, Leather
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
You May Also Like
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Steel
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
Read More
Rooms We Love: 11 Splendid Living Rooms
Common wisdom used to declare the kitchen the hub of the house. These days, the living room seems to have assumed the role of domestic focal point. Unlike the Victorian parlor, stiffly furnished and reserved for guests, today’s living room is a central place for reading, conversation and, well, living, with furnishings that lend themselves to both casual lounging and elegant entertaining.
Vincent Van Duysen Imbues Minimalism with Warmth
The Antwerp-based designer lends his unique touch to homes, boutiques and offices in Belgium, the United States and Germany, as well as furniture for B&B Italia and Molteni.