It was 1975 and designers Afra and Tobia Scarpa were focused on a particular rattan found deep in the forests of the Philippines. Fascinated by the island’s traditional crafts and how the material could shape furniture and housing, the designers based themselves locally to study its potential. For B&B Italia, this cross-cultural immersion would be the starting point for the Basilan-1 Series – the brand’s first outdoor collection. A leading manufacturer of modern Italian furniture in the latter part of the 20th century, B&B Italia has set itself apart as a brand built on an industrial model, focused on high-tech production, new materials and the re-imagination of tradition. The company’s early work with rattan would ultimately shape the 2007 Canasta series by Patricia Urquiola, the official launch of the B&B Italia Outdoor collection.


What followed was a deep-dive into B&B Italia’s most popular designs and the selection of pieces that would complement the growing collection. Classics like Le Bambole by Mario Bellini, Husk by Patricia Urquiola and Tobi-Ishi by Barber Osgerby were re-engineered for the outdoors, joining a swathe of new designs in stone, aluminium, leather and sculpted wood, including the Erica collection by Antonio Citterio, the Ayana by Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa and the Pablo chair by Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen.