#MCCOTInterview {18}

Patricia Urquiola, a Spanish archi'designer in Milan

Sometimes you live your hometown and your country to study abroad and you never come back because you find a new home sweet home far away from home. This is exactly what happened to Spanish-born Architect and designer Patricia Urquiola. She left her hometown Oviedo for Madrid and then for Milan, the city she felt in love with and where she made an happy and creative life and a successful career as one of the most talented female archi'designers on the International market. After more than 30 years, Patricia is now a real Milanese and the happy founder together with her partner, Alberto Zontone, of Studio Patricia Urquiola. In this Italian metropolis of fashion, architecture and design, she has found her own path and her mentor, Italian renowned architect Achille Castiglione. She will be one of the main protagonists of the long awaited Salone del Mobile.Milano 2022 , which will take place in Milan on next 7-12th June. The perfect occasion for all her fans to discover the fruit of new creative partnerships with International Design brands. Stay tuned. Creativity rocks. 

By Hélène Battaglia

Who are you?

I am Patricia Urquiola, architect and designer, born in Oviedo (Spain), living and working in Milan for more than 30 years now.

What brought you in Milan which has now become your home sweet home?

I started my architecture studies in Madrid, then I moved to Milan. I liked architecture, but I felt that I wanted more than that academic approach and I was attracted by Milan by so many things…the masters, the design scene, Memphis, Fiorucci…And when I started classes at Politecnico, they were a savvy mix of architecture and design. I met design here and I felt in love with this discipline, having the great luck of having Achille Castiglioni as my mentor, but also knowing others like Tomás Maldonado, who already talked about sustainability, in a time when nobody knew about it.

In which way, Italian Architect Achille Castiglioni has influenced your career and your life?

Achille was a great designer, a master who embodied ethics and sustainability. He has taught entire generations to observe, to give the right time to things; he was like that, he shone with a proper light. I remember that Achille always said that, when designing, you have to think about the user who will buy your creation, becoming the final part of the design process; he loved this poetic aspect of thinking about spaces or objects with people. All his teachings have made me become the designer I am now.

Together with your partner Alberto Zontone, you founded STUDIO URQUIOLA in 2001. How do you daily manage 70 coworkers (architects, product designers…), 18 nationalities and 15 foreign languages?

The studio grew very organically and naturally over time. At some point we added architecture department to design. We are a community working very closely and this helps us all to solve problems: many times, the small scale of products makes me reflect on a solution for an interior project and vice versa. Also, I am very open and direct with everyone, I strongly believe in the importance of sharing.

Architect or Designer? Which fits you best?

I am both, I don’t like 50-50 descriptions. I would say I am an architect with the heart of a designer.

Among all the ones you got, is there a special prize or award you are the proudest of and why?

Every prize is an important acknowledgement to me, but it was a particular honor to receive The Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts awarded by the Spanish Government and the Order of Isabella the Catholic, especially as a Spaniard living abroad.

With the urgent need of a more sustainable lifestyle, as an architect and designer, how did your approach change in the last years?

Circularity is fundamental in the design process. I was already in this path with most of my clients and the latest years of pandemics simply accelerate some of the process we had on track. We know we have to answer more questions than in the past. As designers, we have to design ‘in reverse’, starting thinking of the product’s life end from the beginning, designing the disassembly possibilities, how to put its components back into the production cycle and so giving a second life to the product. It is crucial to design behaviors and not just products. Thinking of upcycling paths for materials and objects. In addition, these past two years have been a laboratory of behaviours, we all had to learn how to manage long-distance work relationships through the digital media. We all had to adapt and made our amphibian roots grow.

Which are the skills one has absolutely to have to be a good architect and designer?

To enjoy the process, no matter what. And to share the problems, in the way that Italians usually do. It is important that everyone in the team brings home a problem, a part of the project, and think of possible solutions. The search for quality must be pursued by all the people involved.

All the pictures are Courtesy of Studio Patricia Urquiola

Studio Patricia Urquiola

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