In December, the CID Grand-Hor-nu in Belgium is dedicating the exhibition “Meta-morphosa” to her: an immersion in five years of research that explores the transformations of materials, objects and, above all, our way of looking at reality, with a tenacious desire to understand what is changing.

Desirée de Lamarzelle: “Meta-morphosa” explores the transformations of contemporary design and your work. Is this a step towards the future?

Patricia Urquiola: With this exhibition, I want to show design in constant motion, almost a way of inhabiting the world. Design evolves with society, our era and its complexity – a complexity that is already a form of metamorphosis.

The exhibition explores materials, objects and processes: how to rethink them, how they reflect our uses beyond their function. I wanted to highlight a more conscious way of producing, with a real focus on sustainability.

What role does industry play in this thinking?

P.U.: It is central. The exhibition brings together prototypes, installations, but also industrial objects. You can see the materials we are testing and the processes we are developing with companies. I believe our work always follows two stages: listening, then engaging in dialogue. In design, nothing is done in isolation. Innovation is a collective movement bringing together philosophers, engineers, designers, biologists, sociologists, and now also technologies such as artificial intelligence.

“Meta-morphosa” focuses on the last five years of research, marked by Covid, which has imposed a form of transformation. This is not a retrospective, but a perspective rooted in a very particular present.

During this period, I discovered *Métamorphoses* by Emmanuel Coccia, a book that moved me deeply. We became friends and conceived a piece inspired by his text: a room for reflection where our dialogue continues.

You place great importance on materials in your work. How do you approach them here?

P.U.: Materials are at the heart of the exhibition. We even have a space called ‘Matter matters’, because materials are never neutral: they carry environmental, social and technical implications. Some objects appear handcrafted, yet they stem from highly advanced industrial research.

Here we find bioplastics, ceramics produced using complex processes but embraced for their irregularities, and even regenerated technical fabrics. What interests me is the moment when material becomes a truly desirable alternative.

Every choice involves values and raises a fundamental question: how do we create in the present that is ours?

You are exploring a porous boundary between craftsmanship and technology.

P.U.: Design is a constant negotiation between craftsmanship, technology, ecology and society. It is not about returning to an ancient craft, but about preserving those roots whilst exploring new languages. In the exhibition, some projects take on rougher forms to escape overly polished technicality: these are not steps backwards, but metamorphoses. Two large rugs, depicting a caterpillar and a butterfly, embody this idea: understanding transformations, reducing matter, imagining the languages of tomorrow’s materials.

You have been Cassina’s artistic director since 2015. How would you define your role?

P.U.: Cassina possesses an exceptional archive, both physical and mental. Upon arriving, I immediately realised the responsibility of honouring this heritage without confining it. An archive must remain alive: Cassina is not a museum. My role is to engage with this history, to build on it without sanctifying it. I work closely with the in-house teams, who have a deep understanding of the company. I have spent a great deal of time in the workshops, alongside the engineers and craftsmen: it was there that I came to understand that rare blend of industrial rigour and experimentation that forms the very DNA of Cassina. A concept behind every object.

How do you maintain the balance between Cassina and your other collaborations?

P.U.: It’s a delicate balance. Cassina plays a major role in my work, but I also collaborate with many other companies, each with its own culture, rhythm and language. It’s essential not to mix these energies: when I work with Moroso, Mutina, Boffi or others, I shift completely into a different mindset. Each project demands an internal repositioning, a different way of listening and looking. This diversity creates a powerful dynamic: it nourishes me, pushes me to stay alert and never repeat myself. It is precisely this constant movement that prevents any form of cannibalisation between my collaborations.

You advocate for more conscious and sustainable production. How does this fuel your creativity?

P.U.: Many projects today start with regenerated materials: recycled textiles, reimagined composites, reprocessed resins. Far from holding us back, these constraints unleash a new creative energy. When we accept that we can no longer do things ‘as before’, trials, accidents and surprises become fruitful moments. That’s when everything comes to life. Jean Nouvel once asked me why we always seek perfection in design. That remark has stayed with me. Absolute perfection doesn’t interest me: imperfection opens doors. It tells of a gesture, a tension, perhaps a hesitation, but that is precisely what brings the object to life. Very often, beauty lies in what eludes us.

Is there an object you haven’t designed but would have liked to create?

P.U.: Yes, many. There are objects where I find myself thinking: ‘I wish I’d been there when that idea came about.’ It’s a feeling of admiration. When an object is just right, it becomes almost collective. Some objects belong more to the world than to their creator.

Would you say your work blends past and present?

P.U.: Yes, but without nostalgia. The past is a resource, a depth. It nourishes, provided it is reinterpreted. I look behind me and ahead of me at the same time. It is in this tension that I find my place.

What is your earliest childhood memory of an object related to design?

P.U.: At school, we had a ‘crafts’ class. I felt very at home there, to the point where I would sometimes do my classmates’ exercises. It was my instinctive way of thinking: understanding by handling, by assembling, by letting my hands lead the way.

This very direct approach has remained at the heart of my practice.

“Patricia Urquiola, Meta-morphosa Europalia España”

Grand-Hornu site, Rue Sainte-Louise

82, 7301 Hornu (Belgium) •

An article written by Désirée de Lamarzelle. Read it in issue 14 of Oniriq Magazine.

Translated by Bethszabee Garner