PATRICIA URQUIOLA

AWARD-WINNING ARCHITECT, DESIGNER AND ART DIRECT OR OF CASSINA.

Many design enthusiasts and like-minded industry players have turned to Patricia Urquiola’s impressive portfolio of works for inspiration. With her strong design language, detailing, and play on colour, form and material, Patricia has made a name for herself in the design world, collaborating with renowned furniture brands such as Kartell and Cassina. We caught up with her recently to talk about her passion for furniture design and architecture, as well as some of her latest creations.

The Beam sofa, which Patricia designed in collaboration with Cassina, has flexible and lightweight back and armrest cushions.

The Floe Insel sofa started off as a small project; I wanted to incorporate an emotion I had during a trip I took from Iceland to Greenland. We were travelling in a boat for 15 days, and most of the time we were in the middle of icebergs. This got me thinking about the world and its changes. It was a very emotional and important trip for me.

Returning home and working on the Floe Insel sofa, I couldn’t avoid the imagery of an iceberg symbolising an island; an island which you place in the middle of the room. Unlike conventional sofas, there is no specific front or back to the piece. It is a three-dimensional object with non-geometrical elements, and all the pieces are like an iceberg in some way.

I don’t think the beginning of a project is always the result of an inspiration from a travel or something that happened in my life, but in the case of the Floe Insel, it was. Inspirations can come from quotidian situations, like an emotion or music; there are many reasons to begin a project.

I love designing carpets!

Take, for example, if you’re in a garden and you lay a carpet down, you’re already defining a space! Whenever someone asks me which room I prefer in a home, I don’t have any. For me, a carpet is enough to represent a room; it’s like a shelter. Today, the concept of a shelter is no longer just a physical roof.

I would say, none of them. Each project has a concept and an idea. You have a goal in mind, which you want to translate. I don’t think that it needs to be a specific look. It depends on the conceptual idea. Research comes natural with the concept. I want my projects to bring a sense of comfort and wellness, with some innovation and inspiration that reflect my roots and values.

I don’t believe that technology solves everything. There are many ways to offer a new point of view. It can be by creating an emotional response or sensation. I always tell students and designers who may be from countries where technology is less advanced, that they can take inspiration from their society, culture and education. These aspects can possibly be even more powerful than what technology may bring.

I’m not chromo-phobic. I am always inspired by the energy that colours give me. Colours, surfaces, patterns and textures — I’m curious about all these things. For me, colours are necessary, but it is actually just a question of light. They are very reactive to light – the existence or non-existence of it.

It also depends on materiality. For example, if there’s an object with a rich tone, but a highly reflective surface, it will offer a different look. When choosing colours, it is no longer only a question of the shade, but other factors affecting it.

I was happy participating in the Oasia Downtown hotel (Patricia worked with local architecture firm Woha on this project). It was nice because it’s a demonstration of a successful collaboration between designers on two sides of the world who have similar visions. Revisiting it again this time, I imagined what it would be like for surrounding buildings to be clad in tropical plants. I hope the future of Singapore will be complete with lots of green, tropical buildings. I’m happy to have been part of a project, which represents a step towards enhancing the city in another way.

There’s always a lot happening at Salone. One of the projects we’re working on is the renovation of Cassina’s showroom in Via Durini, Milan. The brand’s celebrating its 50th anniversary and we want to introduce a new ambience to the space, as well as some new products.

Yes, we are working on a new shop for Panerai at Ion Orchard, which will probably be completed by the end of this year.

The Cassina Gender chair was designed to allow customisation, to allow for different expression based on form and colour.

Patricia is well versed in designing myriad types of products, including tableware such as the Kartell Trama collection.

“I don’t believe that technology solves everything. I always tell students and designers who may be from countries where technology is less advanced, that they can take inspiration from their society, culture and education.”