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Dining Concept "Landscape": Designed by Patricia Urquiola

Patricia Urquiola is one of today’s most famous, internationally popular designers. For the Rosenthal studio-line Patricia Urquiola has designed a dining concept of porcelain, glass, cutlery and accessories, which meets the standards of ground-breaking product design with its language form and excellent craftsmanship. A new design milestone has now been realised following two years of development and in collaboration with Patricia Urquiola, the creative design team and technicians at Rosenthal.

Patricia Urquiola’s design combines western tabletop culture with the oriental tradition of spontaneous and versatile tableware usage. The characteristic design of the dining concept comes to the fore on the plates with their relinquished borders particularly well. Different three-dimensional patterns lend the porcelain series an extra dimension and emphasise its high quality. "These patterns are the result of an archaeological-like exploration through our cultural memories. The result is a new interpretation using a modern digitalized language."

The seven different reliefs on porcelain elements are sometimes arranged asymmetrically, sometimes covering the entire surface. Sometimes the pattern breaks out across the rim, reshaping its line. As such, this individual design and formal feature allow versatile alternative combinations. The transparency, a major feature of high quality porcelain products, is particularly evident in Urquiola’s design and reflects Rosenthal’s many years of competence and experience. The fine relief structure emphasises the shimmering effect of the wafer-thin porcelain.

The same serene form language is to be found on the glass articles, too. Urquiola has designed the matching cutlery picking up on the example of an English "marrow spoon" from the 17th century. The design here is characterised by its formal simplicity and its ties with tradition.

"Our aim is to offer a collection which captivates with clear forms and that can be used in a variety of different ways, but which distinguishes itself by its wealth of content and which can be read as a sensual compendium," says Patricia Urquiola explaining her concept.

Patricia Urquiola was born in 1961 in Oviedo, Spain and now lives and works in Milan. She studied architecture at the Polytechnics in Madrid and Milan, where she graduated in 1989 after completing her thesis with Achille Castiglioni.

She worked at Achille Castiglioni’s office between 1990 and 1992. From 1990 to 1996 she was responsible for new product development at De Padova and created several objects in collaboration with Vico Magistretti. Between 1993 and 1996 she also dedicated herself to the architectural design of showrooms, restaurants and shops. In 1996 she was appointed head of the Lissoni Assiciati design group.

In 2001 she opened her own studio for product design, architecture, installations and concept creation. Urquiola has designed successful collections for, among others, Moroso, Driade, Kartell and B&B and was a member of the international jury for the Rosenthal young designers’ award "Rosenthal Design Award 2004".

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