Starting on Monday travellers at Milan's Malpensa Airport will be able to sit and wait for their departing flights on the world's longest couch.
A 45-meter Bombay Sapphire Stretch has been installed in the airport's central departure lounge to coincide with Milan Design Week, April 2-9. The one-of-a-kind modular couch is the brainchild of London designer Tom Dixon who said "the evolution of the Bombay Sapphire Stretch is incredibly exciting. It will be great to see how travellers interact with the sofa".
"I think we're going to get an immediate response from the public," he added. Dixon was recently named Designer of the Year by the London Design Museum and is a founding member of the Bombay Sapphire Foundation, created by the gin-maker in 2001 to support excellence in contemporary design.
Last September, Dixon set up a 75-meter version of his Bombay Sapphire Stretch couch which was built using 12,000 super-sized rubber bands.
At the time Dixon explained how the Bombay Sapphire Stretch "perfectly illustrates the work of the foundation by allowing everyone to appreciate and interact with this new design".
Dixon received an OBE in 2000 for his services to British design and aside from running his own furniture and product design label, he is also creative director for the furnishings giant Habitat.
