IMBOTTITI BELLA

The Nov/Dec 2002 issue of Metropolitan Home is a memorable one for me. I was attracted to the pastel imagery on the cover: a yellow Egg chair by Arne Jacobsen, Panton classic chairs by Verner Panton in high gloss orange contrasted by a white armless sofa by Flexform with sky blue pillows … no wonder, it was an interior by architect Lee Mindel of Manhattan’s powerhouse firm Shelton Mindel & Associates. As if that wasn’t enough an added bonus was the issue’s Met Home of the Month which opened by saying “two maestri of Milanese modern team up to bring a little bit of England to the hills of Northern Italy”. The two maestri happened to be Giorgio Busnelli and Antonio Citterio, life long friends and respectively principal and chief architect for B&B Italia. The country style home with its Tuscan sensibility was renovated and furnished by Citterio for Busnelli and his family. Needless to say the interior was spectacular and the experience was a bit of an eye opener to Milanese Modernism. Clearly a reference point for upholstered furnishing is Busnelli’s family business, B&B Italia. The blatant creativity, innovation and technology behind their upholstered sofa, lounge and seating forms is the brand’s trademark. Collaborations with top international luminaries have positioned B&B as a leader in the contemporary furnishing sector. Aside from Citterio some of the other illustrious designers for B&B include: Nicole Aebischer with Atelier OI, Roberto Barbieri, Mario Bellini, Jeffrey Bernett, Uwe Fischer, Carsten Gerhards & Andreas Glucker, Chris Howker, James Irvine, Jean Marie Massaud, Gaetano Pesce, Paola Piva, Studio Kairos, Monica Armani, Patricia Urquiola, Afra & Tobia Scarpa, Naoto Fukasawa, Richard Schultz, and Zaha Hadid.

related links:
www.bebitalia.it
www.antoniocitterioandpartners.it
www.sheltonmindel.com

images: (click on images to enlarge)
Diesis sofa by Antonio Citterio (top)
Tulip by Jeffrey Bernett (2nd)
Series Up 2000 by Gaetano Pesce (3rd)
Mart by Antonio Citterio (4th)
Metropolitan armchair by Jeffrey Bernett