"Leonardo da Vinci" International Lifetime Achievement Award for Design will be awarded to Designer Patricia Urquiola - FB

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"Leonardo da Vinci" International Lifetime Achievement Award for Design will be awarded to Designer Patricia Urquiola

Ceremony and exhibition in October

The Florence Biennale is pleased to announce the prestigious “Leonardo da Vinci” International Lifetime Achievement Award (for Design) will be conferred to the internationally renowned architect, designer and art director Patricia Urquiola on Thursday, 23 October 2025, during the XV Florence Biennale, themed "The Sublime Essence of Light and Darkness. Concepts of Dualism and Unity in Contemporary Art and Design".

 

The decision, made by the Biennale’s Curatorial Board and the International Jury, is accompanied by the following statement: 


“For Urquiola’s ongoing pursuit of innovation, fearless experimentation, and exceptional talent in designing spaces, objects, and production processes aimed at improving people’s lives and built with deep respect for nature. This award honours an architect and designer who has carried forward the legacy of her mentor Achille Castiglioni, projecting design and architecture toward new horizons beyond the limits of what has previously been explored, and offering a remarkable example of the hybrid and unification of opposites.”

Educated at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and completed her studies at the Politecnico di Milano, where she graduated under the mentorship of Achille Castiglioni, Patricia Urquiola now works with remarkable versatility across a wide range of fields, from product design to architecture, from graphic design to interior design. Since 2015, she has served as the Art Director of Cassina and has collaborated with major design brands such as Flos, Moroso, Driade, GAN, Andreu World, Glas Italia, Kettal, and Kvadrat, as well as international companies including Haworth, BMW, Boeing, Louis Vuitton, Missoni, Mandarin Oriental Hotels, Four Seasons, Marriott Group, Starbucks, Ferrari, and Swarovski. In Spain, she has been awarded the Gold Medal of Fine Arts and the Order of Isabella the Catholic. In 2013, she was named one of the new Honorary Ambassadors of Marca España, and in 2024, she was appointed a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. In the same year, she was received the title of Cavaliere (Knight) of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by the President of Italy in recognition of her achievements.

 

The recipient of numerous international awards and honours, Patricia Urquiola has been named Designer of the Year by Wallpaper, Elle Décor International, AD Spagna, Architektur&Wohnen, and many other leading publications. Her work is part of the permanent collections of some of the world’s most important museums, including the MoMa in New York, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Triennale Museum in Milan, the Museum of Design in Munich, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, the Vitra Design Museum in Basel, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Design Museum in Zurich, the Stedelijk Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Amsterdam, the Design Museum in Barcelona, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

 


Her career has left a significant mark on the landscape of contemporary design. Her work is distinguished by soft forms, sensory materials, and a strong commitment to sustainability

Patricia Urquiola
Patricia Urquiola

“Design is shaped more by questions than answers”

 

Recognised as an exempla for fellow artists and designers, an exhibition space dedicated to Patricia Urquiola will open on 18 October and remain on view throughout the Biennale, featuring a selection of her masterpieces. The conferral of the “Leonardo da Vinci” International Lifetime Achievement Award for Design will take place on Thursday, 23 October, in the theatre area of the Florence Biennale (Spadolini Pavilion, Fortezza da Basso, Florence), during a ceremony open to the public.

 

The renowned Spanish designer and architect commented on the announcement of the award as follows: “It is an honour to receive the Leonardo da Vinci Award at the Florence Biennale—an recognition that celebrates the curiosity and the ability to embrace change. I have had the pleasure of working in Florence, a city that preserves the art of thought and transformation. For me, design is a continuous act of experimentation, shaped more by questions than answers. It is not just about finding solutions, but about inhabiting the process itself. And this award, which bears the name of someone who always united art, science, and curiosity, reminds me that design is a way of engaging with complexity, without simplifying it.”

 

Recipients of the design categories in the past editions include Salvatore and Wanda Ferragamo (2019), Elsa Peretti of Tiffany & Co. (2019), Paula Scher (2019), Vivienne Westwood (2021), and Santiago Calatrava (2023).

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