Patricia Urquiola studied architecture and design at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and completed her studies at the Politecnico di Milano, where she graduated under the mentorship of Achille Castiglioni. In Spain, she was awarded the Golden Medal for Merits in Art and received the Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic. In 2001, she founded her own studio where she specialized in industrial product design, architecture, art direction, and strategy consulting. Urquiola has been the Creative Director of Cassina since 2015, and works with design companies including Moroso, Driade, Flos, GAN, Andreu World, Glas Italia, Kettal, Kvadrat. Empathy, life-long research, changing perspectives, experimentation, and constant dialogue have traced her professional path, along which she always kept in mind the essential relationship between spaces, objects, and the final user. Creating links between craftsmanship and industrial research, heritage, and innovation. Patricia Urquiola also drives companies she works with to upcycle once-waste material and re-imagines entire processes leading to change and evolution. In her lecture, she will explain how her practice has evolved and expanded over the years and how her work not only deals with products and architectures, but also explores the possibilities about the future of mobility, workplace, and production cycles.
