Design Awards 2016 Judges: Konstantin Grcic and Patricia Urquiola
![Haunted house](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/eESkFB88yWwCAFFx9fJWoa-415-80.jpg)
Konstantin Grcic and Patricia Urquiola need little in the way of introduction. Their always exceptional design work has earned them multiple and regular appearances in the pages of this magazine. Friends and first team talent for the same design companies, and joint winners of last year’s Wallpaper* Designer of the Year gong, the pair joined forces on this year’s judging panel.
Meeting at Fondazione Prada in Milan – with Urquiola’s husband, and Grcic’s partner and baby daughter patiently in tow – the duo discussed who got top marks and why, across 11 different categories.
They admit they came to the task reluctantly – no designer is comfortable sitting in judgement on the work of peers, friends and colleagues. Luckily, many of the Judges’ Awards categories don’t require this kind of discomfort. And in others, the result was so clear cut there was little need for tortured debate. The Fondazione Prada, winner of Best New Public Building, was a case in point.
‘There were no compromises made,’ observes Grcic of the sprawling complex. It was designed by Rem Koolhaas’ OMA, which transformed seven early-20th-century buildings and designed three new structures, all of which pop up and play harmoniously in the vast campus. ‘The choice of architect, and the time span of developing such a project in all of its detail, make the building stand for the kind of quality that we see so rarely today.’
Urquiola agrees. ‘This kind of attitude, to think but then to also act, is so important,’ she says of Prada’s CEO Patrizio Bertelli and his wife and creative director Miuccia Prada, who spent over a decade planning the project. ‘As someone who lives in Milan, they have really given us something special,’ she adds.
Urquiola was spellbound by the foamy, air-pierced aluminium that wraps around many of the foundation’s walls and inspired the pair’s on-site illustration of the space, created for this month’s limited-edition subscriber cover. ‘I’ve often seen this material but it’s never been well proposed,’ Urquiola says. ‘The way it’s been used here is fantastic.’
The designers were also in accord when it came to the Designer of the Year award.
‘All of the contenders were great,’ Grcic says. ‘But the Bouroullec brothers have done such fantastic work over such a long period of time, they deserve it just a little bit more than the others. They’ve been going at it for 15 years, always at the top level. It’s incredible.’
‘It was very easy for me,’ Urquiola agrees. ‘They did a fantastic job this year.’
Other categories mulled over by our duo were Best New Hotel, which went to the Aman Tokyo (‘I’ve been there,’ says Urquiola. ‘The entrance is an incredible piece of architecture’); Best City, which went to Copenhagen (‘They seem to be creating a city for today for a citizen for today,’ remarks Grcic. ‘It’s very open minded’); and the twin fashion awards with Best Men’s Fashion Collection A/W 2015 going to Stefano Pilati at Ermenegildo Zegna Couture and the womenswear award for the same season handed to Phoebe Philo at Céline.
‘I feel very inspired by good fashion designers and what they’re able to do,’ Grcic says. ‘We keep designing tables, chairs and storage. They have to redesign the jacket, shirt and trousers. The choice of materials, fabrics and the construction of something three-dimensional is very interesting.
As originally featured in the February 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*203)
See the Design Awards 2016 in full – including our extra-special Judges' Awards - here
The 2015 Wallpaper* Designer of the Year joint award winners met at the Fondazione to discuss who got top marks and why, across the awards' 11 different categories
The duo also settled into the Fondazione Prada's Wes Anderson-designed Bar Luce, to collaborate on a subscriber cover for the February 2016 issue of Wallpaper*
Their illustration took inspiration from the Fondazione's foamed-aluminium walls...
... and the imposing, geometric staircases of the sprawling museum
Konstantin Grcic and Patricia Urquiola's exceptional design work has earned them regular appearances in the pages of this magazine
The final cover quickly took shape, but we also managed to get our hands on a few sneaky sketches from the power duo we now know as PatKon
INFORMATION
Photography: Gianluca Fontana
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
JJ Martin
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Patricia Urquiola designs first Puig Women’s America’s Cup trophy
The Puig Women’s America’s Cup trophy is ‘like a sail struck by the wind’, says Urquiola, as the event’s debut is announced for October 2024
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
‘The Small Hours’ bathroom collection by Patricia Urquiola for Salvatori is an ode to having time for yourself
Patricia Urquiola's new bathroom collection pushes Salvatori's formal aesthetic with an unprecedented combination of stone and steel
By Cristina Kiran Piotti Published
-
New Mater tables by Patricia Urquiola are made from recycled coffee beans
The Alder collection of tables by Patricia Urquiola for Mater make their debut at Milan Design Week 2024, and are made of a specially-developed material made from recycled coffee beans
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
Konstantin Grcic steps into the sporting arena with an exhibition exploring sport and design
Konstantin Grcic curates ‘Match, Design & Sport – A Story Looking to the Future’ at Musée du Luxembourg, to coincide with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (until 11 August 2024)
By Anna Sansom Published
-
Patricia Urquiola and Heimtextil announce collaboration to explore the future of fabrics
On 9 January 2024, Heimtextil announced a partnership with Patricia Urquiola to take textile design and research into uncharted territory, championing innovation, sustainability and trends in textiles
By Giovanna Dunmall Published
-
Divide and conquer: a new exhibition sheds light on the cultural history of folding screens
‘Paraventi: Folding Screens from the 17th to 21st Centuries’ is on view at Milan’s Fondazione Prada until 22 February 2024, featuring historical artefacts and new commissions
By Laura May Todd Published
-
Step inside the lush Rome Edition interiors by Ian Schrager with Patricia Urquiola
The newly-opened Rome Edition features lush interiors by Ian Schrager with Patricia Urquiola set in a former 1940s bank in the heart of the city
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
When Patricia Urquiola met Giulio Cappellini
Patricia Urquiola tells Wallpaper* about working with design visionary Giulio Cappellini, Guest Editor of our October 2023 issue
By Rosa Bertoli Published