B&B Italia outdoor collection, by Piero Lissoni

“Borea is an aeroplane. It is an aeroplane that has landed, a twenty first century aeroplane with a technological soul that perhaps dates back to another century. Borea is an aluminum collection, very modern, stackable, a genuine outdoor product that you can leave out in the rain and nothing happens, but above all it looks like an aeroplane! It gives you the idea of this timeless furniture that the tradition of the twentieth century has moved into the new century.”

These are the words of designer Piero Lissoni, new artistic director of B&B Italia, to describe the new collection for outdoor by the Brianza-based company. It is a complete collection populated by chairs and tables designed by Lissoni, where the fil rouge is the tubular metal structures, without joints or interruptions. A tribute to the world of aeronautics, which traditionally uses metal bending and curving.

Borea offers cosy and welcoming shapes, thanks also to the generous cushions: the seats include two and three-seater sofas, an armchair, a low armchair and a dining armchair, all with stackable structures in painted aluminium in dove grey, sage, clay and anthracite. The upholstery is made of 100% polyester fibre from recycled PET plastic bottles, which surrounds a differentiated density polyurethane insert. The padding of a three-seater Borea sofa is made from 510 bottles of 1500 ml, 390 bottles for the two-seater sofa, 280 bottles for the armchair. On the upholstery front, the fabrics recall the classic striped cotton canvas of yesteryear, in shades ranging from marieniére-style white and blue, to natural white, to grey and a fresh aquamarine green. Fabrics with "deckle" stripes are freely juxtaposed with fabrics with finer stripes and solid colours. Coloured profiles in natural white, blue, grey, aquamarine green and red emphasise the upholstery and allow for a further degree of individualisation. 

The dining table proposals recall the shapes and colours of the seats, substituting steel for aluminium to support tops made of lava stone from the slopes of Etna. The latter is interpreted with large rectangular tiles glazed in three bright colours - sage, clay and ocean blue. The glazed surface is made of a special material obtained from the recovery of glass from disused TV and PC monitors, applied directly to the stone using an exclusive manufacturing process. The motif of the top with enamelled lava stone tiles is repeated on the low tables designed as a complement to the seats.