ABOUT Patricia Urquiola

Patricia Urquiola was born in Oviedo, Spain and studied architecture in Madrid before graduating from the Milan Politecnico in 1989. The key words for her work are: rigour and emotion, innovation and mental comfort. She was mentored by some of the masters of Italian industrial design: Achille Castiglioni oversaw her graduate thesis, and Vico Magistretti, with whom she designed her first projects. She learned her craft in Italy, and opened a studio in Milan in 2001, where she has developed a truly global enterprise. Some highlights from her career include her encounter with Maddalena de Padova (1990), her collaboration with Piero Lissoni (1996-2000), and her partnership with Patrizia Moroso (since 1998). Her designs are unconventional, emphatic, and experimental, blending humanist sensibilities and technical expertise – qualities that also inform her work as an architect. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Barcelona is one of her many architectural projects. She has received numerous accolades and awards over the years, and in 2011 she was awarded the Medalla de Oro al Mérito en las Bellas Artes. Some noteworthy collaborations include : Agape, Alessi, Axor, B&B Italia, Baccarat, Bisazza, BMW, De Padova, Driade, Emu, Flos, Foscarini, Gandia Blasco, Glas Italia, Kartell, Kettal, Kvadrat, Molteni, Moroso, Mutina, Louis Vuitton, Rosenthal, Viccarbe, Molteni&C, Missoni, Ritz Carlton Marriott, Design Hotel, Haworth and Boffi. Several of her pieces are displayed in museums and her Fjord armchair is part of MOMA New York's permanent collection.