Official supplier photography.

Babylon armchair

dining chairs & armchairs · aluminium · Ref vr-babylon-armchair

Quando ci siamo posti di fronte a questo progetto in realta avevamo una chiara idea, non tanto formale, quanto della sua funzione. Christopher ed io amiamo passare le notti estive ad osservare le stelle, un po forse perche ci ricorda le notti in barca a vela. Il brief che ci siamo posti e stato quello di un divano per osservare il cielo nelle notti stellate. / [printed English] When we approached this project we actually had a clear idea, not about the shape but about its function. Christopher and I love spending summer nights looking at the stars, maybe because this reminds us about sailing nights. The brief from which we started was that of a sofa to observe the sky during starry nights. [designer statement printed on render p135, headed "giopato & coombes TALKS ABOUT BABYLON"]

MADE TO ORDERShips from Italy · 12–16 weeks door-to-door

Materialaluminium

teakaluminiumfabricmetalsolid woodsteel

As printed92 88 45 75

Width92 cm

Depth88 cm

Height75 cm

Seat height 45 cm

Custom cushionsMade to order for this frame, in your chosen fabric — commission cushions, or read Cushions & comfort below.

Request technical sheet Request finish samples

Full specification8 sections

Materials: alluminio verniciatofibra sintetica intrecciata a mano
Material family: aluminium
Fabric: —
Cushion code: —
Customer's own material: —
Typology, as supplied: poltrona / armchair
Features: —
Handling & storage: Not stated on this piece’s record — which is not the same as ruled out. Ask us and we will confirm with the factory.
Working height: No bar or counter working height on this piece’s record.
Record notes: printed 250-251. Unlabelled line drawing. Opener text lists the collection contents: "divano, poltrona, pouf, tavolini bassi e lettini" / "sofa, armchair, pouf, low coffee tables and sunbeds".

The BABYLON collection, in the book

8 pieces indexed across 9 spreads (reader pp. 127–135). Credited to Giopato & Coombes.

Cushion thickness is deck arithmetic, not a style choice: the maker builds the bare frame deck low or high knowing what will sit on it, and the cushion is the remainder to a comfortable finished seat. That is why a dining pad runs thin and deep seating runs thick — neither is an upgrade on the other.

For a dining chairs or armchair: 3–6 cm seat pad — slim enough that the shell still reads and knee room under a 74 cm table survives. A metal shell takes the slimmer end with a non-slip base; teak and woven frames carry 4–6 cm, with an optional tied back pad.
Core: Exposed pieces take an open-cell, fast-draining (reticulated) core: water passes straight through instead of pooling in the foam. A crowned profile sheds standing water by geometry. Neither makes a cushion waterproof — outdoor builds drain, they do not seal.
Fabric: Outdoor cloth earns its keep in the fibre. Solution-dyed yarn carries its pigment all the way through the fibre, so colour survives sun and scrubbing; surface-dyed cloth wears its colour off. Performance fabrics are water-resistant rather than waterproof, and mildew grows on dirt sitting on the cloth, not in the fibre itself — which is why the published care is washing, drying and standing a soaked cushion on edge to drain.
Patterns & your own fabric: Fabrics and patterns are fully specifiable — plains, stripes and prints, with repeat, direction and railroading captured in the brief so a pattern lands straight on every panel. Many pieces also accept customer’s own material (C.O.M.) — the brief asks rather than assumes.

As the maker dimensions it

Where Varaschin publishes a cushion thickness, it prints on the product sheet’s own elevation: TIBIDABO sofa 14 cm over a 28 cm deck, BABYLON sofa 15 cm, CRICKET settee 9 cm on a sculpted shell, TIBIDABO dining armchair 8 cm. Most sheets print seat height only — where no figure is printed, none is claimed here.

Commission custom cushions

Made to order through our supplier workshops — sized to this frame, in your chosen fabric, from a thin dining pad to a full deep-seating build.

MODELLO REGISTRATO / REGISTERED MODEL: Registered-design notice printed at the foot of the collection description on the openers of EMMA (render p004), EMMA CROSS (p031), EMMA SUNSCREEN (p046), TIBIDABO (p051), SUMMER SET (p095), CRICKET (p110), BABYLON (p127), SYSTEM STAR (p136), SYSTEM (p144), BARCODE (p155) and BALI (p163). NOT printed on the BELT opener (render p073) — BELT is the one collection in part 1 whose opener carries no registered-model line.
teak di piantagione certificata / certified plantation teak: Timber sourcing claim printed on the SYSTEM opener (render p144, for the optional teak bench seat), the BARCODE opener (p155, whole collection) and the BALI opener (p163, whole collection). Printed wording: "teak di piantagione certificata" / "plantation certified solid teak" / "solid teak wood from certified plantation". No certification scheme or certificate number is printed.
soluzioni d'arredo / MULTIPLE SOLUTIONS (BELT): BELT carries two configuration-reference spreads, render p089 (printed 174-175) and render p093 (printed 182-183). Each prints eight plan-view sofa layouts labelled /01 to /08. NO article codes and NO dimensions are printed on either spread — they are layout inspiration only, not a parts list.
MODELLO REGISTRATO / REGISTERED MODEL: Registration statement printed on the technical spreads of BALI BERGÈRE DECK RELAX, NOSS, CLEVER, LINK, LAPIS, BENTO, PLINTO, BAHIA, MAAT and KOLONAKI. SMART instead prints 'MATERIALE REGISTRATO / REGISTERED MATERIAL' (referring to VAR#TEX, not the model).
LINK extendable mechanism: Dedicated spread 'link allungabile / EXTENDABLE TABLE' (printed 404-405) showing the 200x100 H73 in three states: closed 200, one 55 cm leaf to 255, two 55 cm leaves to 310. The photo captions are printed '200 mm / 255 mm / 310 mm' — evidently centimetres given the icons and the rest of the catalogue; recorded as printed, not corrected.
BENTO composition rules: 'soluzioni d'arredo / MULTIPLE SOLUTIONS' (printed 470-471): nine worked composition diagrams labelled /01 to /09 built from the seven BENTO modules. The prose states the customer may re-arrange purchased modules repeatedly and add further modules later, 'rispettando semplicemente le regole di composizione / following the possible options available'. Caption: 'DIVANO BENTO - TAVOLINO BELT - PANCA SYSTEM'.
CARPET material specification: 'Tappeti per esterno realizzati con fibre sintetiche, non-assorbenti e altamente resistenti all'azione degli agenti atmosferici. 100% Polipropilene / Outdoor carpet in synthetic fibers, non absorbent and highly resistant to bad weather. 100% Polypropelene' (spelling as printed).
TRAMA material specification: 'Coperta per esterno con lavorazione maglia rasata. Composizione 100% Olyna. / Outdoor knitted blanket made of 100% Olyna.' Size 170x120 cm, five printed colourways.
COVER — protective covers programme: Custom-made covers cut to the ordered sofa composition and produced at the same time as the sofa. 100% polyester, 180 g/m2, light grey, one side coated with acrylic resin, Teflon stain-repellent and oil/water-repellent treatment. Tested to UNI EN 20811 (water permeability): water column greater than 1000 mm.