Patricia Urquiola was born in Oviedo, Spain, in 1961. She lives and works in Milan. She attended the School of Architecture of Madrid Polytechnic and Milan Polytechnic, where she graduated in 1989 with Achille Castiglioni. From 1990 to 1992, she was an assistant lecturer to Achille Castiglioni and Eugenio Bettinelli in Milan and Paris. From 1990 to 1996, she was responsible for the product development office of De Padova, working with Vico Magistretti. In 1996, she became head of Lissoni Associati’s design group. In 2001, she opened her own studio working on product design, architecture, and installations.
Patricia Urquiola creates design products for Boffi and other Italian and international companies. Her work is displayed in museums and collections including MoMA in New York, Musée des Arts decoratifs in Paris, the Museum of Design in Zurich, the Vitra Design Museum in Basel, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Stedelijk in Amsterdam, and the Triennale Museum in Milan. She has received the Medalla de Oro al Mérito en las Bellas Artes, the Order of Isabella the Catholic, Designer of the decade from Home and Häuser, and Designer of the Year from Wallpaper, Ad Spain, Elle Decor International, and Architektur und Wohnen Magazine. She was the Ambassador of the Milan Expo in 2015 and has been the Art Director of Cassina since September 2015. In 2014, she designed the kitchen Salinas for Boffi, which received the Wallpaper* Design Awards and EDIDA as Best Kitchen in 2015.
