90s Antonio Citterio ‘harry’ lounge fauteuil for B&B Italia

Designer
Antonio Citterio
Manufacturer
B & B Italia
Period
1990's
Origin
Italy
Material
aluminium, Fabric
Color
alu, beige
Code
0323109ZF
Condition
Good condition consistent with age and use.
Dimensions
84cm (w) x 88cm (d) x 70cm (h) | seath 41cm
WS
A - E
Price
Sold, located Amsterdam
Provenance
see writing below.

Born in 1950 in Meda, Italian designer-architect Antonio Citterio is admired for his multifaceted furniture designs, which span bold-colored plastic storage solutions for Kartell to luxury seating designs for B&B Italia and Maxalto.

Citterio opened his own studio in 1972, three years before he graduated from Milan’s Polytechnic School of Architecture. Since then, he has collaborated with major European design houses including Ansorg, Arclinea, Axor-Hansgrohe, B&B Italia, Flexform, Flos, Hermès, Iittala, Kartell, Sanitec Group, Technogym, Tre Più, and Vitra.

Citterio’s designed a large number of notable furnitures designs include the Sity Sofa (1986) for B&B Italia. Among his the Harry designs, named after Harry Bertoia. Since 1993, Antonio has worked as Head of Design at Maxalto, a subsidiary brand of B&B.

Between 1987 and 1996, he worked on many architectural projects in Europe and Japan with American architect Terry Dwan. Projects from this time include the redesign of a block in the historical center of Seregno, Italy (1987); the Esprit headquarters in Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Milan (1987); and industrial plants for Vitra in Germany (1992-2009) and Antonio Fusco in Milan (1993).

In 1999, he co-founded the architecture and design firm Antonio Citterio & Partners with Italian architect Patricia Viel (b. 1962). The firm—which was renamed Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and Partners in 2009—specialises in the design of residential, commercial, hotel, office, and public spaces. Today, it remains the largest architectural firm in Italy, with an annual revenue of over 10 million euro. Notable projects include the premium passenger lounge at Qatar airport, Bulgari Hotels in Milan (2004), Bali (2006), and London (2012), Brooktorkai residential units and offices in Hamburg (2010), and the NOVE office building in Munich (2013-16).

‘Harry’ sofa and fauteuils have been named after Harry Bertoia, one of the grand masters of design, in line with Antonio Citterio’s decision to consistently name his creations after famous designers from the past.

Harry was created in 1995 after a detail was modified. But let’s let the designer tell that story. “Harry emerged after a series of products connected with tradition. I was convinced that that family of sofas didn’t work because something was missing. It needed some sort of thing to draw it into modernity. This is important because, even if nobody knows, ‘Harry’ is the same product with one detail modified: the aluminium foot. It’s a small detail that conveyed a certain sense of lightness, that allowed us to transform the approach from a product bound to tradition to a decidedly modern product. And that was all it took for it to become successful. However, Harry was also proof of the equilibrium that had been established between the project and its industrial development, and between the designer and the B&B Italia Centro Ricerche. My designs are almost simple sketches that express an idea. I depend on the dialogue and story telling with the research and development department to do the rest.”

Beautiful set of two comfortabel Harry fauteuils in good condition consistent with age and use.

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