Outside Perspective
With summer on the horizon, esteemed furniture brand B&B Italia presents its new 2023 Outdoor Collection.
Nooch modular seating system by Piero Lissoni for B&B Italia
This week at Salone del Mobile, industry-leading furniture brand B&B Italia is exhibiting an exciting new collection of outdoor furniture from design luminaries Piero Lissoni, Monica Armani, and Foster + Partners.
Nooch modular seating system by Piero Lissoni for B&B Italia
Anchoring this year’s outdoor collection is Nooch, the vision of acclaimed architect, designer, and artistic director of B&B Italia, Piero Lissoni. Nooch is a dynamic modular seating system with a fluid structure that allows for a wide variety of furniture combinations, from a simple chaise to a multidimensional sectional. “The technology we used at first glance is very simple: laser-cut aluminum tubes we treated as if they were a natural material, such as willow or bamboo, but they have much greater durability and longevity,” says Lissoni. “The system is rather special as it only has three or four components, which multiply together to make a very complicated sofa.”
Flair O’ Outdoor chair and Allure O’ Outdoor table by Monica Armani for B&B Italia
Designed by Monica Armani, the Allure O’ Outdoor table is striking in its materiality. The table comes with a modern light gray, concrete base and top or with a more traditional glossy, glazed stoneware top produced with an artisanal, single firing process. Also designed by Armani, and in collaboration with the Cantù-based design studio unPIZZO, the Flair O’ Outdoor chair is inspired by the clothes of the 1960s and materialized in woven backrests featuring interlacing polypropylene ribbons.
Cordoba Outdoor armchairs by Foster + Partners for B&B Italia
Completing the collection is the Cordoba Outdoor armchair, designed by Foster + Partners Industrial Design Studio. With its design based on the indoor version of the same name, this chair is characterized by a teak frame fitted with polypropylene reinforced canvas covers that make it more suitable to the outdoors. The covers are offered in four nature-inspired colors: green, blue, brick, and dove gray.
Although each design in the collection has its own distinctive character, the four have the ability to work together—and even with designs in previous outdoor collections. “All B&B Italia families are born to dialogue between each other: the outdoor world of B&B Italia is not designed to be used uniformly, but to be mixed,” explains Lissoni. “Die-cast aluminum chairs, sofas in teak, and others with aluminum tubing … if you put all these worlds together, the large family of B&B Italia Outdoor is revealed.”