“What I admire about Patrizia’s work is her approach to design from a human perspective. She is able to create luxurious products and spaces, always through a ‘warm heart’ and a personal narrative.
I admire her because in BMW Design we fully share in these creative processes. Patricia, in my view, is not just a fantastic person but also an exceptional partner with whom to work.” These are the words of Adrian van Hooydonkenior, Vice-President of BMW Group Design, speaking of a second collaboration (the first was in 2010) between the German automaker and the Spanish designer.
Patricia Urquiola and Adrian van Hooydonkenior, Vice-President BMW Group Design
This time they have explored territories that redefine luxury and its aesthetics, pushing beyond boundaries. The stage created by Patricia Urquiola to display the most outstanding models, including the BMW Concept M8 Gran Coupé, inside the BMW Welt, the multifunctional center with permanent displays in the Am Riesenfeld district of Munich, expands on the concept of freedom, suggesting it as an indispensable factor for luxury. “Luxury means having time – Van Hooydonkenior continues – and our cares are a combination of design, innovation and technology to make the time spent inside them as pleasant as possible.” The final result is effectively a mixture of these factors, leading to an aesthetic effect of wellbeing.
BMW Welt, project by Patricia Urquiola and BMW Group Design
Inspired by the new color shadings created for the automotive models, Urquiola evokes the mystical and poetic chromatic shadings of the light of the North, creating a platform that is like a frozen lake, with mutable nuances of blue and green. An incredible and striking surface of 322 square meters, made thanks to cutting-edge 3D printing technology by the company Aectual, welcomes the cars, enhanced by the organic lines of the floor that create a sense of dynamism. The innovative digital technology mixes marble with modern materials and sums up the idea of total freedom to personalize design and performance, through exceptional quality and sustainability.
BMW Welt, project by Patricia Urquiola and BMW Group Design
All around, a series of curtain-panels in metal mesh define the context, together with the furnishings – chairs, ottomans, tables, carpets – for an almost domestic feel. “I liked the idea of applying a ‘fresh’ technique to create what might be defined as a new territory inside the space – says Patricia Urquiola. – I used a series of filters in the metal to incorporate movement. It has been a totally new and exciting way to think about an environment.”
