Yabu Pushelberg’s work is focused on “how they make people feel” and for their first design collection for B&B Italia, the studio drew inspiration from nature, creating a sophisticated sofa collection that balances softness with design rigour.
In the words of Yabu Pushelberg’s George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg, their work is focused on “how they make people feel”. Their first furniture collection with B&B Italia draws visual cues from the natural movement of water and landscape to create a sophisticated balance between softness and design rigour, while creating a flexible sofa system in tune with variations in how people relax at home or in a museum.
“We aimed to create a collection that was a visual dialogue between structure and form; how shapes interact and may be brought together to create their own unique whole,” explains Glenn Pushelberg. “We began the design process by taking an assortment of simple organic forms and playing with their interactions. Many resembled a relationship like that of oil and water, while others delivered the sweetness of strawberries and cream.”
With design teams in Toronto and New York, the Yabu Pushelberg studio designs everything from buildings, interiors and objects, to furniture and graphics, with a long list of evocative interiors for hotels, including The Times Square Edition and Four Seasons in New York and Las Alcobas in the Napa Valley, and projects for retailers and manufacturers that address what they describe as “multiple layers of the human experience”.
Designers George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg have designed the Naviglio sofa and side table, their first collection for B&B Italia. Portrait c/o B&B Italia.
“We began the design process by taking an assortment of simple organic forms and playing with their interactions. Many resembled a relationship like that of oil and water, while others delivered the sweetness of strawberries and cream.”
Glenn Pushelberg
The Naviglio sofa collection designed by Yabu Pushelberg is composed of a curved, linear, chaise longue, with ottoman elements. All photos c/o B&B Italia.
To complement the sofa, the Naviglio table has a transparent glass top and a slender bronzed nickel vertical axis supported by a polished marble base. Photo c/o B&B Italia.
“The dramatic changes of recent months have required people worldwide to experience their homes with a different vision; converging new habits and old pleasures, while adopting a new attitude… The home is increasingly becoming a place for reflection and experimentation, careful work, well-deserved relaxation.”
B&B Italia
The elements of the Naviglio sofa include a curved, linear, chaise longue, with ottoman elements. A sofa without seat cushions, the idea started with its name and the notion of a natural watercourse as a place of meeting. Developed in collaboration with B&B Italia’s research and development team and integrating advanced moulding technologies, its form reveals a delicate balance between polygons, curves and detailed upholstery made of varying densities, each shape ergonomically designed give the body a cosy embrace.
“The dramatic changes of recent months have required people worldwide to experience their homes with a different vision; converging new habits and old pleasures, while adopting a new attitude”, remarks B&B Italia. “The home is increasingly becoming a place for reflection and experimentation, careful work, and well-deserved relaxation”.
B&B Italia and the Naviglio collection is available exclusively from Space – Singapore and Space – Australia.
