Vico Magistretti & Patricia Urquiola Biography
Patricia Urquiola was born in Oviedo (Spain) and currently resides and works in Milan. He graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the Technical University of Madrid in 1989, completing a thesis under the supervision of Achille Castiglioni. Between 1990 and 1992 he acted as assistant to Achille Castiglioni and Eugenio Bettinelli at the Polytechnic of Milan and the ENSCI in Paris. During the period between 1990 and 1996, he worked in the new product development office of De Padova and, in collaboration with Vico Magistretti, signed the projects "Flower", "Loom sofa", "Chaise" and "Chaise Longue ". From 1993 to 1996 he collaborated with the architects de Renzio and Ramerino, dealing with architectural design, showrooms, restaurants and franchising. In 1996 she was appointed head of the design department at Lissoni Associati, working for several international brands. His products were selected for the Italian Design 2001 exhibition. He currently carries out his activity in his own studio in Milan, operating in the fields of design, exhibitions, art direction and architecture.
Vico Magistretti was born in Milan on 6 October 1920 and was an architect and designer exponent of Italian Design during the 1960s. He enrolled in the Faculty of Architecture in 1939, graduating in 1945. Immediately, he began working in his father's studio, who unfortunately passed away that year. Over the course of his 50 years of activity, Magistretti has created numerous important projects in the field of architecture, especially in Milan, among which the Torre al Parco, the offices in Corso Europa, various projects for the INA-Casa stand out, as well as villas and residences. Starting from the end of the 1970s he taught at the Royal College of Art in London, a city to which he was very attached. Magistretti is considered one of the protagonists of Italian Design, a movement and a cultural phenomenon which, in the post-war period, spread Italian style throughout the world. A convinced supporter of mass production, he was fascinated by the possibility of replicating an object countless times, in order to guarantee furniture accessible to all, as the Bauhaus motto states. He has designed for numerous other brands, including De Padova, Fritz Hansen, Fontana Arte and Kartell. Vico Magistretti died in Milan on 19 September 2006.
