The Armchair That Shocked the World

B&B Italia celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Up chair by Gaetano Pesce.

In 1968 Gaetano Pesce was in the shower. “I had the sponge in my hand” explains the Italian designer. “When I pressed the sponge, it shrank, and when I released it, it returned to its original volume. An idea occurred: Couldn’t a chair behave the same way?” Gaetano Pesce began experimenting polyurethane, developing soon a four-inch-thick disk that, when removed from its PVC envelope, would rise from the floor into a cushy armchair.

Fittingly, he named it Up

The first serie of Up chair form 1969, was produced by C&B Italia (today B&B Italia). It was made by polyurethane foam, packed flat and rose to its final shape with the help of Freon gas.

Although the armchair is now considered an iconic design, at the time the piece was intended as a statement about violence against women. The bulbous and curvy Up5 chair is unmistakably feminine in its design, and it attaches to a round ottoman with an elastic cord.

"I was telling a personal story about how I see the woman: despite herself, the woman has always been her own prisoner" said Pesce. "And so I wanted to give this armchair a feminine form with a ball at the foot, which also represents the traditional image of the prisoner..." a prisoner of daily life, routine and family duties, especially at that time.