Patricia Urquiola starts each project by building an empathic connection with the user that will eventually interact with her designs, something she learned from Achille Castiglioni, establishing the “fundamental element” as he used to call, the basis of each project which always keeps her on track and accompanies her whole design process: thinking spaces or objects in relation to people. Pushing the limits of research and technology, Patricia Urquiola constantly experiments and dares to move towards better design and architecture, following her earlier mentors’ teachings such as Vico Magistretti and Maddalena de Padova. Used to confront complex processes, working with scales from micro to macro, she works with the available technology to go beyond the limits of what has been already experimented.
Studio Urquiola is frequently asked to design not only objects and architectures but also to think about the future of mobility, workplace and production cycles. Creating links between craftsmanship and industrial research, the heritage together with innovation and technology, Patricia Urquiola also drives companies she works with to upcycle once-waste material and tries to re-image entire processes leading them to change, evolution and innovation.
Patricia Urquiola believes in an original design point of view merging humanistic, technological and social approaches. Her design thinking is the intersection of challenges and breaking prejudices, finding unexpected connections between the familiar and the unexplored.
Patricia Urquiola has been the Creative Director of Cassina since 2015 and works with important Italian and international design companies, including Agape, Alessi, Axor-Hansgrohe, B&B Italia, Baccarat, Boffi, Budri, De Padova, Driade, Coedition, Ferragamo, Flos, Gan, Georg Jensen, Glas Italia, Haworth, Kartell, Kettal, Kvadrat, Listone Giordano, Louis Vuitton, Molteni, Moroso, Mutina, Rosenthal and Verywood…
Amongst her latest projects in architecture are Il Sereno Hotel in Como, the Room Mate Giulia Hotel in Milan, the SD96 yacht for Sanlorenzo, Marienturm and Marienforum towers in Frankfurt, the spa of the Four Seasons Hotel Milan, The Jewellery Museum in Vicenza, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Barcelona, Das Stue Hotel in Berlin; showrooms and installations for Gianvito Rossi, BMW, Cassina, Missoni, Moroso, Molteni, Officine Panerai, H&M, Santoni and the general concept of Pitti Immagine in Florence…
Patricia Urquiola is part of the advisory board of the Politecnico of Milan and the Triennale Milano Museum. She taught the Master’s Degree in Interior Design at the Domus Academy in Milan (2013-2015) and has given lectures at Harvard University, Michigan University, Shenkar School of Engineering and Design in Israel, at the Alvar Aalto Academy in Finland, at the State University and Bocconi University in Milan. She has also given talks at countless cultural events, such as Design Shanghai, Design Week in Istanbul, the Expressive Design conference at the Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany, the Bloomberg Design Conference in San Francisco, Festarch Perugia, the Mind Festival in Sarzana and the Mantova Literature Festival, among other events in Italy. She was an ambassador of the Milan Expo in 2015.
