A native of Oviedo in Spain, Patricia Urquiola attended the Facultad de Arquitectura in Madrid, before graduating in 1989 from the Milan Polytechnic under Achille Castiglioni.

Between 1990 and 1996, she was responsible for De Padova’s new product development office and signed the products “Flower,” “Loom Sofa,” and “Chaise Longue” with Vico Magistretti.
From 1993 to 1996, she had an associate practice with architects de Renzio and Ramerino and was engaged in the architectural design of showrooms, restaurants and franchising stores.

Patricia’s seating designs are well known and admired around the world for their concave styling and attention to detail. Her designs, Step and Lowland Sofas, were selected for the International Design Yearbook in 1999/2000 and in 2001 her Lowseat was selected to represent Italian design in the Furniture Design Tour. Patricia Urquiola has received great success in her One container, designed jointly with Piero Lissoni for Kartell.

Patricia Urquiola now directs installations, stands and showrooms for Moroso, Knoll, Sag 80 and Somma, and designs furnishings for Alessi, Agape, B&B, Driade, Foscarini and Molteni &C.

In 2006, Urquiola collaborated with Bisazza for the Salone del Mobile.

On that occasion, Patricia Urquiola and Martino Berghinz created a luminous and fine atmosphere around By Side, an extra large folding screen with polished steel frame and mobile panels of mosaic.

“By Side is an installation where the grandeur and the multiplicity of the folding screen alternates to the ethereal simplicity of the surroundings. The observer actively relates with the structure in a rarefied atmosphere. By Side represents not only a functional object, but one appropriate for the space where it stands. It divides the room in two enchanting areas where the panels can be rotated to complement both sceneries: one attracts the spectator in a Tolie de Jouy enriched with glowing highlights while the other accompanies the viewer in a game of reflections” Patricia Urquiola and  Martino Berghinz.

The original By Side folding screen is showcased currently in the Exhibition Halls at Bisazza Headquarters in Vicenza, Italy. A smaller version of the screen folder  (200×200cm)  is included  in the Bisazza Home collection available to the public.

Urquiola’s unique and inspiring design style can also be seen in the graphic pattern she designed for Bisazza Mosaic collection: multiple lines and geometrical shapes in different shades of green and blue weave together to create modular patterns similar to net.

A fresh design suitable for any environment in the house.

After the recent restyling of the New York flagship store, Bisazza opened its second showroom in North America, part of the strategic plan of the company to enhance the brand identity through the opening of flagship stores that are all aesthetically consistent, while reflecting the sophisticated and unique style of Bisazza.

The flagship stores, with their homogeneous and lush appearance, are located in the major design capitals of the world: Antwerp, Barcelona, Berlin, Chicago, London, Miami, Milan, Moscow, New York,  Paris, Rome, and Tokyo.

The Los Angeles store, as all others, was designed by the Bisazza Design Studio, a team of young designers directed by architect Carlo Dal Bianco, that coordinates the company’s style and product collections. The space is conceived as a series of living areas, a succession of rooms illustrating residential environments and showing the versatility and aesthetic qualities of mosaic design.

The entrance is characterized by the presence of four columns clad in Righe Oro, a simple decoration in stripes of gold and white mosaic. On the floor Dama Nera, a checker board black and white pattern inspired by the British optical fabrics. It leads to the first room where gold is the main motif with the walls clad in Damasco Oro Giallo, inspired by the traditional brocades, on one side, and Etoiles Oro Giallo, a fine lace motif, on the other.
The second room is dominated by the white color, and the perfect match of flowers and graphic decorations with Winter Flowers Oro Bianco, inspired by the old French fabrics,  and Liaisons Bianco, a pattern designed as an ethereal jewel of white and gold.

The library shelters the complete Bisazza collection, classic patterns alongside the newest decorations. This space, with its dark colors and ebony wood, draws its inspiration from the neo classical libraries of the XIX century and is present as a leitmotiv in all the Bisazza flagship stores worldwide.

The floor is also characterized by Vienna Nero, a peculiar decoration that is reminiscent of the traditional Viennese chairs.

The last and more intimate room showcases SpringRose Nero, a naturalistic representation of blossoming tea roses inspired by the pergolas and arbors of Victorian gardens.

The ten Marie Antoinette chandeliers that illuminate the store belong to the Bisazza Home collection, an assortment of furniture and decorative accessories designed by leading designers such as: Andrée Putman, Patricia Urquiola, Marcel Wanders, Studio Job, Jaime Hayon and Jürgen Mayer H.

The collection, combines mosaic and other luxury materials, and creates a unique take on home decoration characterized by boundless creativity.

The Spa, housed in the Peninsula New York Hotel, is a 35,000-square-foot oasis featuring thermal suites with ice fountains set against a backdrop of 24-karat gold Bisazza mosaic. The gold mosaic enhances the nature-inspired design of the spa offering luxurious compliments to the organic form featured throughout.

The beauty of the mosaic illuminates the dream-like environment of marble, warm woods and hues of cinnabar, amber and charcoal throughout the Spa. The gold mosaic allows a wide range of luminous effects and shades to enhance the calm lighting of the Spa, particularly because of the diffusion and vibration of light off the shimmering gold.

The Peninsula Hong Kong is home to The Peninsula Spa by ESPA, a calming environment of reclaimed antique wood and green bamboo complimented by shimmering glass mosaic.

The Spa experience is tranquil, peaceful and framed by a glimmering glass mosaic backdrop.

ALESSANDRO MENDINI PROUST MONUMENTALE

Photo Alberto Ferrero

Once defining himself as a “designer of a milky way”, Mendini is an artist who pursues a range of interests, with notable passions for literature, architecture and design. Mendini considers himself a “magazine designer” after his work with Casabella and Domus throughout the 1970s and his work to steer the magazines in the direction of radical, functional and rational design.

ALESSANDRO MENDINI PROUST MONUMENTALE

Photo Alberto Ferrero

Alessandro Mendini led art direction for Bisazza during the late 1980s, and under his direction  Bisazza was one of the first companies who looked to leading architects and designers for artistic advice developing from then on collaborations with a variety of personalities in the world of art, architecture and design such as Sandro Chia, Ettore Sottsass, Jaime Hayon, Marcel Wanders and Alessandro Mendini himself.

Convinced that architecture does not originate from the city but from the human body, the “centre of all spatial interest,” Mendini has carried through a number of architectural projects, including the tower in Hiroshima in Japan, the Groninger Museum (Holland 1989-94), the Louisiana Museum (Denmark 1996), the Arosa Casino in Arosa (Switzerland 1997), the Maghetti-neighborhood in Lugano (Switzerland 1999). His project for the Subway of Naples (2001-2003) was presented at the Biennial of Architecture in Venice (2002) and was awarded a gold medal for Architecture at the Milan Triennial (2003). He was also twice awarded of the Compasso d’Oro (Golden Compass Award): in 1979 for his theoretical analyses and in 1982 for design.

“Mobili Per Uomo” (Furniture for Man), a notable project from Mendini, is made up of nine out-of-scale sculptures in yellow gold mosaic designed and created between 1997 and 2008. The project started as a symbolic expression of the essentials of a man’s wardrobe: Giacca, Scarpa, Guanto e Testa pensante (Jacket, Shoe, Glove and Thinking Head, 1997) and was later complemented by Lampada e Tazzina (Lampshade and Cup, from the Nuovi Mobili per Uomo – New Furniture for Man series, 2002), Stella (Star, 2003), Cappello (Hat, 2004) and Borsa (Suitcase, 2008).

ALESSANDRO MENDINI MOBILI PER UOMO

Photo Ottavio Tomasini

The entire Mobili per Uomo collection is now showcased in Vicenza together with the Proust Monumentale, the famous Proust armchair originally designed by Mendini in 1987 with Studio Alchymia, produced by Bisazza in an oversized version for the “Art of Italian Design” exhibition in Athens, October 2005.

The “dreamy-pop” vases, entitled Antenahat, Ballhat, Bulletrabbit, Black Bulletrabbit, Openholes, Openmuñeco and Pointyhat, are all numbered as part of Bisazza’s Limited Editions collection, a limited edition series of exquisite works with Bisazza mosaic tile.

Antenahat

Ballhat

Bulletrabbit

Black Bulletrabbit

With Pixel Vases, the Spanish designer Jaime Hayon unconventionally experiments with mosaic through his own personal language.

“… the intention is to break with the traditional use of the Bisazza elements… where the mosaic application can become any shape, any intention within artistic expression.” (Jaime Hayon)

The use of mosaic with ceramic, resulted in objects of uncommon and voluptuous shapes.

Each vase looks like a lead character of a fairy tale environment and represents a luring and intriguing way of using mosaic.

Openholes

Openmuneco

Openmuneco with Pedestal

Since, the New Museum building has offered a home for contemporary art and an incubator for new ideas, as well as an architectural contribution to New York’s urban landscape. The Museum is a combination of elegant and urban, adding life and verve to New York’s new Lower East Side.

The Museum building rises 174-feet above street level and appears as a dramatic stack of six rectangular boxes. The distinctive architectural form of the building derives directly from the site itself. The anti-establishment museum sits in a scruffy-but-gentrifying part of town and exudes an urban elegance one would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.

The interior of the Museum is as non-conformist and contemporary as the exterior. With 15-foot tall clear plate glass windows, and a color palette of stark white and aluminum, visitors will be drawn to the luminous, pale space, full of daylight washing a palette of white and silver.

Bisazza’s Hanami Arancio (orange) and Hanami Azzurro (blue) mosaic patterns provide one of the few touches of color apparent in the Museum.

Bisazza Hanami mosaic covers the walls of Museum restrooms with hotly hued, pixilated Hanami cherry blossom patterns – the only intensely colored feature in the building aside from the vibrant green elevator cab interiors.

The pattern is designed by world-renowned Carlo Dal Bianco and takes its name from the traditional Japanese festival of cherry blossom, as he depicts large black and white cherry blossoms blooming on blue and orange backdrops.

Studio Job’s unique and cutting-edge style is clearly recognizable in the objects they create, including limited edition pieces, installations and interior projects designed for public places.

Studio Job’s work inspires different interpretations and is the expression of a path that runs between art and design.

Through the years, Studio Job has intertwined art and design in collaborations with many leading companies, notably Bulgari, Hello Kitty, Prada, Swarovski and Bisazza.

The most important project designed by Studio Job for Bisazza is the Silver Ware collection, first presented in 2007 at the Milan Design Week and then showcased around the world: Christofle in Paris, 2008, Icff NY 2008, SLS Hotel in Los Angeles and now in Miami for Design Miami and to celebrate the new Bisazza Miami Flagship Store opening.

The Silver Ware collection includes eight out of scale pieces: a Cake Platter, Silver Spoon, Dish Cover, Tea Tray, Chandelier, Candle Holder, Tea Pot and a Basket. The pieces are entirely clad in white gold mosaic creating an authentic and unique art collection, precious and ideal for private collections but also worthy of display in museum.

Studio Job’s creative verve and the beauty of gold mosaic combine to produce works that are mesmerizing in a highly original way, capable of capturing the observer’s attention and casting a unique and slightly surreal spell.

The collection is the perfect fusion between art and design where decorative objects overstep the boundaries of art with poetry. Silver Ware is part of Bisazza Limited Editions and is on display in Vicenza at Bisazza Headquarters.

The collaboration with the internationally known Dutch-Belgian duo confirms the continuous engagement of Bisazza to work with more inventive and talented personalities in the world of the design.

With the opening of the new Flagship Store in Miami, planned for Tuesday December 1st 2009, Bisazza Mosaico confirms its strong interest in strengthening its presence in the United States, an increasingly important market where the company has already opened three stores during the last few years (in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York).

The new store is located in the Design District area inside an impressive building and occupies a space of 400 square meters. The airy and luminous environments are perfectly fit for displaying the Bisazza Mosaic Collection and Bisazza Home, an assortment of furniture and decorative accessories signed by leading designers such as: Andrée Putman, Jaime Hayon, Marcel Wanders, Patricia Urquiola.

Within this setting, the decorative value of every single piece fully discloses itself and introduces an elegant interior style suitable for all living spaces.

The opening of the new flagship store coincides with Design Miami, the prestigious international art and design fair.

On that occasion, the showroom will showcase some pieces from the “Silver Ware” collection, designed by Studio Job for Bisazza Limited Editions, an exclusive selection of limited edition works. These precious out-of-scale sculptures, entirely clad in white gold mosaic, represent the perfect fusion between art and design.

The Miami flagship store was designed by architect Carlo Dal Bianco, director of the Bisazza Design Studio, who has conceived, along the years, all Bisazza stores located in the main capitals of design: Antwerp, Barcelona, Berlin, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Moscow, New York, Paris, Rome and Tokyo.

Novembre is popular worldwide because he is so many things at once, and above all a great communicator.

“I cannot draw a line of demarcation between art, music, architecture and the rest,” he says. “I believe they are just different forms of communication. I am interested in the message that one seeks to convey through them.”

LOVE OVER ALL, project design Fabio Novembre – Bisazza Headquarters. Vicenza, Italy, 2003

Fabio Novembre is one of the favorites of the design world: with his works he has contributed to the enormous success of Bisazza’s design presence. The bold and provocative interior designs he produced as Creative Director of the company from 2000 to 2003 helped Bisazza emerge as a world leader in the design sector. Projects carrying the Novembre signature during this period include Bisazza’s attention-grabbing showrooms in New York, Milan, Barcelona and Berlin.

BISAZZA NEW YORK – Bisazza flagship store, design Fabio Novembre. New York, 2003

BISAZZA MILAN – Bisazza flagship store, design Fabio Novembre. Milan, Italy, 2002

In his designs for the first Bisazza showrooms in Berlin and New York, Novembre gives mosaic enormous expressive power. Rather than a mere surface-covering material, it becomes a sculpture that envelops walls, floors and ceilings. In this fashion, Novembre designed the Hotel Vittoria, Florence, and the Divina discotheque and Shu Café, both in Milan, which are spectacular projects known for their brilliance worldwide. Each creation of Novembre’s is new, innovative and designed to astound.

UNA VITTORA HOTEL – Project design Fabio Novembre. Florence, Italy, 2003

DISCO DIVINA – Project design Fabio Novembre. Milan, Italy, 2001

Novembre’s installations are lavishly ornamental, and his preferred medium is mosaic tile. He tiles the surfaces of an interior the way an artist covers a canvas in oil or acrylic. “Tiles are always architectural elements for me. They are the skin of my spaces.”

Fabio began designing interiors for Bisazza in 1994, with the Blumarine flagship store in London. He was appointed Art Director in 2000 and carried the title through 2003. Among his work with Bisazza mosaic in hotel, bar and commercial design, Novembre has remained constant as a leading figure, and friend, of the Bisazza brand.

BAR LODI, project design Fabio Novembre, Lodi, Italy, 1998

Bisazza will expand its offering of interior products in 2010 with a new line of mosaic furniture and decorative accessories featured in the Home collection.

With this new product line, Bisazza introduces an elegant interior style, which compliments the contemporary home and combines accessories and furniture pieces designed by some of the most important designers worldwide. The new products, available in 2010, will compliment the style, luxury and design of the precious 2009 Home collection. The unique style, which only Bisazza is capable of, is discernible throughout the Home collection with its close attention to detail and careful selection of precious materials.

The new products of BISAZZA Home will include:

The Marie Antoinette chandelier with 60 bulbs, designed by Carlo Dal Bianco, offers an upgraded, bolder version of the original Marie Antoinette chandelier.

Chandelier with crystal drops and silk shades. New version with 60 bulbs, with black or white shades.
Dimensions:
180 x 250 cm

The Buillon Cabinet, featured in Bisazza gold mosaic, will offer a stunning, modern piece of cabinetry for the contemporary home designed by Marco Braga & Storage.

Cabinet with steel frame and clad  with Bisazza gold mosaic.
Dimensions:
93,7 x 64 x 63,9 cm

The Correspondances table designed by Andrée Putman, first presented at the 2008 Milan Design Week, will now become available in a Blue color version in the BISAZZA Home collection.

Desk of two overlapping and adjustable tops in blue lacquered wood and glass mosaic white and blue. Leather desk pad.
Dimensions and weight:
200 x 77 x 70 cm – 125 kg

The black Engine Table designed by Jaime Hayon, conceived and first presented at the 2007 Milan Design Week, will join in 2010 the white version already included in the current collection.

Gran Reflet Carré Oro Bianco (white gold) and Gran Reflet Carré Oro Giallo (yellow gold) – offering a new shape and dimension to the rectangular Gran Reflet, already available from BISAZZA Home.

Mirror framed in Bisazza gold mosaic, available in white or yellow gold.
Dimensions:
96,5 x 96,5 x 4 cm

The Bisazza Home collection is on display and available for sale at the Bisazza flagship stores located worldwide in the capitals of the international design: Antwerp, Barcelona, Berlin, Chicago, Paris, London, Milan, Moscow, Rome, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and, now, Miami.