1. B&B Italia since 1966
1989, the first Compasso d’Oro Award ever assigned to a company
for the constant work of integration carried out in order to combine
the values of scientific and technological research with those
necessary to the functionality and expressiveness of its products.

2. KEY ATTRIBUTES
• 1966 Established as C&B (Cassina & Busnelli).
• Modernization and industrialization process drive Italy to initiate
daring experimentation.
• Technological revolution of injection moulding (cold polyurethane
foam moulding) yields the icons of design, eg. Up, Coronado,
Lombrico and Amanta.
• 1973 Piero Ambrogio Busnelli founded B&B Italia, after previously
co-founded C&B Italia with Cesare Cassina.
• 1975 Maxalto was established with research on classical forms and
inspired by ancient manual cabinetmaking process and of stringed
musical instrument making procedures.
• Wood is the key protagonist in Maxalto collections – Artona (1975)
and New Armony (1979) created by Afra & Tobia Scarpa.

3. KEY ATTRIBUTES
• 80s saw radical changes by merging tradition and experimentation.
• 1989 Compasso d’Oro to B&B marks a milestone underscore B&B’s
role in the progress of Italian design.
• 90s B&B became acknowledged internationally for high impact
projects by Antonio Citterio, eg. Domus (1989), Harry (1995) and
Charles (1997).
• 2000s Collaborated with Patricia Urquiola and Naoto Fukasawa for
remarkable projects, eg. Fat-Fat and Lens (2002-2003), Tufty-Time
and Lazy (2005), Shelf X (2006), Canasta (2007) and Grande
Papilio (2009).
• Canasta marks B&B’s debut on the scene of outdoor furnishings.
• B&B remains committed to research and innovation as it is the key
factors and driving force to the company’s growth.

4. KEY PRODUCTS
CORONADO
Afra & Tobia Scarpa, 1966
• Technological revolution of
injection moulding.
• Interesting example of
continuous design, it could in
fact be continually revised.
• The first upholstered furniture
in which all the structural metal
work was drowned in
polyurethane.

5. KEY PRODUCTS
SERIE UP
Gaetano Pesce, 1969
• “At the time I was telling a
personal story about my idea of
women: women have always
been, unfortunately, prisoners of
themselves. In this way I chose
to give this armchair the shape
of a woman with a ball at her
feet, which also constitutes the
traditional image of the
prisoner.”

6. KEY PRODUCTS
LE BAMBOLE
Mario Bellini, 1972
• Icon of the Seventies and
winner of Compasso d’Oro in
1979, LE BAMBOLE never
gets old.
• Apparent lack of load bearing
structure, the extreme
naturalness of the shapes, the
combination of comfort,
softness and elasticity clearly
speak about the design.

7. KEY PRODUCTS
DIESIS
Antonio Citterio & Paolo Nava,
1979
• The design started from idea of
taking a classic image, based on the
designs of Masters of the Modern
Movement, and completely
separating the load bearing
structure from supporting surfaces.
• The object’s elegance derives from
its fine detailing, eg. printed leather,
feather padding and leather covers.

8. KEY PRODUCTS
SISAMO
Studio Kairos, 1983
• SISAMO opened the way for
containers with flush sliding
doors.
• Together with the minute
attention to detail in the
product’s design, the attention
paid to functionality led to the
inclusion of a dust trip along
the sides of the doors to create
an almost airtight seal.

9. KEY PRODUCTS
SITY
Antonio Citterio, 1986
• SITY represents a typological
revolution – first concept of
seating system enhanced by
multiple compositional options.
• “No SITY is the same as
another SITY.”
• Awarded Compasso d’Oro in
1987.

10. KEY PRODUCTS
DOMUS
Antonio Citterio, 1989
• DOMUS reinvented, modified
and transformed the walls of
the home, allowing them to
contain, display, hold, light,
protect and exhibit objects.
• The innovative wing shelves
had a steel core that ran
through the shelf to provide an
exceptional load bearing
capacity of 100kg per metre!

11. KEY PRODUCTS
CHARLES
Antonio Citterio, 1997
• CHARLES is a tribute to Fifties
and Sixties design.
• The possibility of composing a
large number of different
seating arrangements, starting
from fourteen different
elements, is the principle that
inspired CHARLES.
• An essential design of the cast
aluminium feet makes
CHARLES a decidedly
contemporary sofa.

12. KEY DESIGNERS
AFRA & TOBIA SCARPA GAETANO PESCE

13. KEY DESIGNERS
MARIO BELLINI ANTONIO CITTERIO

14. KEY DESIGNERS
STUDIO KAIROS JEFFREY BERNETT

15. KEY DESIGNERS
PATRICIA URQUIOLA NAOTO FUKASAWA

16. PRODUCT COLLECTIONS
1995
HARRY
Antonio Citterio
2007
FAT-SOFA
Patricia Urquiola
2005
TUFTY-TIME
Patricia Urquiola
2007
MOON SYSTEM
Zaha Hadid

17. PRODUCT COLLECTIONS
2010
BEND-SOFA
Patricia Urquiola
2012
LUIS
Antonio Citterio
2010
RAY
Antonio Citterio
2013
ANDY ‘13
Paolo Piva

18. PRODUCT COLLECTIONS
1979
DIESIS
Antonio Citterio
& Paolo Nava
2011
LANDSCAPE
Jeffrey Bernett
2008
TERMINAL 1
Jean-Marie
Massaud
2012
FRANK
Antonio Citterio

19. PRODUCT COLLECTIONS
2003
MART
Antonio Citterio
2011
HUSK
Patricia Urquiola
2009
GRANDE
PAPILIO
Naoto Fukasawa
2012
J.J.
Antonio Citterio

20. PRODUCT COLLECTIONS
2001
VOL AU VENT
Mario Bellini
2011
DOYL
Gabriele &
Oscar Buratti
2005
LAZY ’05
Patricia Urquiola
2012
HUSK
Patricia Urquiola

21. PRODUCT COLLECTIONS
2003
LENS
Patricia Urquiola
2010
EILEEN
Antonio Citterio
2008
SEVEN
Jean-Marie
Massaud
2012
ATHOS ’12
Paolo Piva

22. PRODUCT COLLECTIONS
2002
FAT FAT-LADY
FAT
Patricia Urquiola
2012
MICHEL
Antonio Citterio
2010
SURFACE
Vincent Van
Duysen
2012
MERA
Antonio Citterio

23. PRODUCT COLLECTIONS
1997
CHARLES
Antonio Citterio
2013
HUSK
Patricia Urquiola
2007
TUFTY-BED
Patricia Urquiola
2013
ALYS
Gabriele &
Oscar Buratti

24. PRODUCT COLLECTIONS
2005
PAB
Studio Kairos
2008
FLAT.C
Antonio Citterio
2006
ATHOS
Paolo Piva
2008
FLAT.C
Antonio Citterio

25. PRODUCT COLLECTIONS
2005
SHELF X
Naoto Fukasawa
2012
FRANK
Antonio Citterio
2005
ARNE
Antonio Citterio
2013
HIVE
Atelier Oi

26. PRODUCT COLLECTIONS
2007
CANASTA
Patricia Urquiola
2009
TITIKAKA
Naoto Fukasawa
2008
CRINOLINE
Patricia Urquiola
2010
CHARLES
OUTDOOR
Antonio Citterio

27. PRODUCT COLLECTIONS
2010
CARPINO
Antonio Citterio
2013
LINK
OUTDOOR
Jakob Wagner
2013
MIRTO
Antonio Citterio
2013
MINI PAPILIO
Naoto Fukasawa

28. QUALITY & MATERIALS
B&B Italia seeks and applies innovative cutting edge technologies to
ensure durability in view of updating a collection that increases the
possibilities of choice and customisation.
B&B ITALIA FOAM
This provides a whole host of advantages compared to a standard
frame (timber frame with shaped polyurethane block):
• Using metal frames immersed in polyurethane guarantees solidity,
resistance, durability and functionality;
• The insertion of elastic straps and springs ensures the highest
standards of comfort;
• Fibreglass reinforced or preheated aluminium moulds allow
unrestrained reproduction of organic forms.

29. QUALITY & MATERIALS
FABRICS
• Fabrics undergo the following set of quality tests to assess their
quality and durability:
- RESISTANCE TO ABRASION
- FORMATION OF PILLING
- LIGHT FASTNESS
- RESISTANCE TO TRACTION
- RESISTANCE TO LACERATION AND RUBBING
• To further improve performance, some fabrics are subjected to
finishing treatments, such as, for instance:
- STAIN PROOFING
- SANFOR
- BUFFING
- FIREPROOFING

30. QUALITY & MATERIALS
LEATHER
• Leather selected from calves and bulls bred in EU community.
• Beauty and quality of leather depend on origin and the way animal
was bred.
• B&B selects hides from young animals (bullocks) because they are
more intact and compact.
• Treatments and finishes preserve the natural features – including
certain anomalies due to natural living condition, such as scars,
insect stings, corns, wrinkles, shading, differences in grains, etc – to
be considered as positive features and essential elements of leather.
• B&B ensures the utmost care during the leather cutting phase to
avoid placing the said “marks” on the visible parts of the products.

31. QUALITY & MATERIALS
ORIGIN OF WOOD
• OAK – solely ribbed American rift white oak. Typically straight but
irregular grain, sometimes coarse texture.
• CANALETTO WALNUT – warm shades. Evident grains endow wood
with varied chromatic effects.
• ROSEWOOD – from Latin America. Unique and inimitable grain and
chromatic noble wood.
• TEAK – solely used for outdoor collection. One of the most precious
tropical woods for its exceptional resistance to atmospheric agents.
It contains natural oily resin that makes it highly resistant, thus
enhance the degree of waterproofing (even preventing termite
attacks).

32. QUALITY & MATERIALS
WOOD FINISHES
• B&B subjects wood to an open pore finish in order to highlight the
distinctive characteristics of the wood and its natural quality.
• LIGHT OAK
• BLACK OAK
• SMOKE OAK
Before applying a clear finish, the surface is subjected to a
“brushing” process that highlights the grain in the wood.
• GREY COLOURED OAK
The colour applied is designed not to alter the original
characteristics of the wood itself.

33. QUALITY & MATERIALS
LACQUER
• The paints are designed to achieve the best results in terms of
resistance to ageing, scratching, abrasion.
• “TITANIUM” FINISH – a very bright paint, is the result of internal
research and of a complex painting cycle, and anticipates the future
of chrome effect paints on a wood or metal base.
• All paints used by B&B are water-based, designed and specially
tested in compliance with environment-friendly regulations in force
concerning emissions.
METALS
• STEEL
• ALUMINIUM
Varnished, chromed or brushed finish.

34. QUALITY & MATERIALS
MARBLE
• EMPERADOR
• BLACK MARQUINA
• PORTORO
• WHITE CARRARA
• WHITE CALACATTA
Two different finishes –
• A matt finish that enhances the porosity of the material and which
undergoes only a “stain proofing” treatment that slows down the
absorption of liquids.
• Polyester-based paint highlights the beauty of evident veins and
chromatic reflections . And ensures waterproofing against all liquids.

35. QUALITY & MATERIALS
THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL
• It offers advantages such as lightness, resistance and easy
cleaning.
CRISTALPLANT®
• A highly technological and innovative material in “solid surface”
category.
• It is made of high percentage of aluminium hydrates and acrylic
resin that is poured into moulds.
• It is impact resistant, UV rays, temperature fluctuations and wear
resistant.
• “Soft touch” effect of the surface.
• CRISTALPLANT® is exclusively manufactured in Italy, and it is
100% recyclable.

36. QUALITY & MATERIALS
ECO-SUSTAINABILITY
• PRODUCTS THAT ARE VALUABLE IN TIME – impeccable products
in terms of function, materials, construction quality and design that
last in time.
• QUALITY THAT STANDS THE TEST OF TIME – all B&B
upholstered models have 10 year guarantee for the frame.
• DESIGN AND FUNCTIONALITY THAT STAND THE TEST OF TIME
– “TIMELESS” design from cooperation with leading international
designers; adopting “ECOLOGICALLY FRIENDLY” conducts;
discovering innovative materials and developing production
processes designed to guarantee industrial approach that
increasingly respects environmental balance.