0 CommentsIt is uncanny how, for over 40 years, the B&B Italia collections have been accurate indicators of changes in contemporary culture, anticipating new design trends, and providing the answers to the changing tastes and needs of living. In fact, B&B Italia, founded in 1966 by Piero Ambrogio Busnelli, has become an essential symbol of the history of Italian design, combining creativity, innovation, elegance and new technologies.
To those familiar with the work of this company, it is a well-known fact that the success of the company was in no small part thanks to the work of several celebrated Italian designers of the calibre of Tobia Scarpa [the Coronado sofa,1966], Gaetano Pesce [Serie Up, 1969] and Mario Bellini [Le Bambole sofa, 1972]. Moreover, during the last 30 years, B&B Italia has been enriched with the work of Antonio Citterio, who, in the words of Giorgio Busnelli himself - with whom he has been sharing the long history of the company - is a true master of design.
One of B&B Italia's many strengths was the ability to recognise and encourage young Italian talent, a fine example of this appreciation being the office building where I meet Giorgio Busnelli with a view to understanding and recording the history and vision of B&B Italia. My training as an architect could not but leave me enthralled by the absolutely modern quality of this building which was designed by a very young Renzo Piano in 1972. The formality of the space, with its air of importance and its international character is, however, immediately softened by the welcoming kindness of the staff and Giorgio Busnelli himself.
The international character of the company is made clear from the start. Busnelli naturally speaks of how B&B Italia exports to over 60 countries, and aims at consolidating its presence abroad even more. In recent years, it has inaugurated several stores in major cities including New York, Paris, London, Osaka, Tokyo, Bilbao, San Francisco, and others. But, statistics immediately give way to a more personal, and clearly enthusiastic description of the latest store to open, that in Barcelona, a city which, as Busnelli puts it, is sympathetic with the spirit of the Group because of its vitality and its drive to constantly renew itself. This first Spanish B&B Italia store carries the signature of Patricia Urquiola - a designer who already collaborates with the company - and Martino Berghinz. The Group is very proud of this new space which, in spite of its small dimensions [it measures 550sq.m.], is nonetheless situated on Paseo de Gracia, a street famous for the design and fashion shops which line it. Fiorella Villa, PR for B&B Italia, speaks of the problems that, inevitably, came with the drive to open, but shows satisfaction with the final result, and in particular, with the ability of the designers to convert an otherwise common space into an altogether poetic experience. I am shown photos which pay tribute to the elegant suspended central staircase that links both levels of the space, the play of three-dimensional metal grids that re-interpret - albeit in a modern key - the idea of a screen, and the folded longitudinal wall with its various planes and niches that serve as exhibition stands. But most of all, the description lingers on the magical effect of the mirrored ceiling that reflects the Moooi lamps in such a way that creates the illusion of a starry sky.
I ask about the Milanese showroom and now I am introduced to a new type of concept store. Here, the new collections of the group are exhibited on the occasion of Salone del Mobile, given that it has been some years now since B&B Italia exhibited in the fair pavillions. The aim of the store is to create different environments and varying atmosphere, corresponding to different lifestyles, so that different products of B&B Italia, Maxalto and Moooi can be seen together. Busnelli explains the importance he always attaches to the versatility of the different pieces that should be designed "to overcome the rigid barriers that confine pieces of furniture to specific surroundings, the home and the workplace. They should be based on a concept of greater freedom that allows each piece to intermingle with the other". In other words: freedom with style.
The store presents itself not only as a showroom but also as a place that encourages the meeting of architects and designers, hosting events connected with culture, design and architecture, especially during the Design week Fuori Salone when, traditionally, B&B Italia presents its new collection. I ask about future plans, and it transpires that there is no intention to return to the Fiera di Milano, in spite of the international character of the latter. Giorgio Busnelli is, however, enthusiastic about the new building, and shows support for Milan's wish to emerge from the provincial nature of its architecture of recent years, quoting the spate of provincial modernism sprouting in some parts of the city. And, Busnelli declares, instead of the three towers conceived to occupy the site of the old Fair, shouldn't we be designing a much needed green lung for Milan, something on the lines of Hyde Park in London?
In contributing to the social development of the city, and in particular, a city which is considered a centre of design, the role of a company of the stature of B&B Italia can never be underestimated. With regards to the Salone, although Busnelli seems to be intrigued more by the creativity of the stands hosting the new products than by the products themselves, he reiterates the importance of the fair as a great opportunity for several companies and, no doubt, for young talent, to exhibit their work. His belief in this young talent materialised in January of this year, when B&B Italia acquired a controlling interest in Moooi, a young Dutch design company. Busnelli makes it a point to explain that this acquisition was not due to any possible crisis of the young company. Quite the opposite, Moooi is the only company that had caught his attention and intrigued him with its original products and its anti-conformist and ironical touch. Both companies, Busnelli explains, will operate in a totally autonomous way. The move is not aimed at fusing the companies but at creating a collaboration, where the key word is synergy. It feels as though B&B Italia, in view of its consolidated experience in design, has taken on the role of the elder brother, while Moooi, under the direction of Marcel Wanders and Caspers Vissers, provides a new and fresh stimulus.
The originality of Moooi is not only apparent in their designs, but also in the way they present and publicise the brand. I am shown one of their catalogues, and can't help but smile, when, on leafing through it, I admire the ironic way the nude body was combined with objects of design. Their motto is ‘have fun', and they really seem to succeed, unlike so many young Italian designers today who, perhaps, take themselves too seriously. Is this a problem of education, is Italian design going through a crisis, I ask. The question presents itself with a good dose of bitterness, even in view of the fact that a company like B&B Italia today collaborates with many more foreign names than Italian ones: Patricia Urquiola, Jeffrey Bernett, Naoto Fukasawa, Vincent Van Duysen and James Irvine, among others. Not uncharacteristically, B&B Italia has always exploited foreign talent as a means to enrich its ‘Made in Italy' product.
Busnelli discusses the irony contained in the current ‘Made in Italy' concept, which has become a label rather than a guarantee, given that so many products both of fashion and design are manufactured outside Italy. Referring to B&B Italia again, he insists on the required authenticity obtained by producing designs in Italy, as a means to control the attention to detail, the quality and the utilisation of emerging technologies.
"It is not accidental that we have always had the will to invest energy, and obviously, money in our Research Centre, the Centro Ricerche e Sviluppo, to which we dedicate 3 per cent of our annual turnover. In fact, 40 years ago, thanks to our research centre, we were able to revolutionise the manufacture of upholstered items, having discovered a way to submerge a metallic structure in polyurethane."
This begs the next question: any new revolutions in the pipeline? Even though the answer is negative, new minor innovations are constantly being taken on board as, for example, is the case with the Ottochairs [2006] designed by Citterio, which include a new technology involving the fusion of two plastic materials, one transparent, the other opaque, with two different coefficients of flexibility, in order to increase comfort.
Finally, curious to know how designers present their work to the company with a view to seeing their ideas realised, I am taken through the different methods of presentation. While young designers turn up with renderings and small models, the older generation are still loyal to the traditional freehand sketch. But this is only the beginning. Whatever the approved idea, a hundred prototypes are invariably produced, discussed with the designer and modified another hundred times, before the perfect solution is found and the final product established.
