Onoffice magazine

“I’m kind of a rebel,” announces Nika Zupanc, slowly stirring her coffee. “Even in school, I always tried to make a point or subvert things – to give new meaning to the ordinary parts of life.” It seems the Slovenian designer, 37, has used the same motto to carve out her niche in the contemporary design world. A world that, by her account, is still a boys’ club where rational utilitarianism reigns supreme. An object or piece of furniture has to…

The first time I saw Patricia Urquiola, she was snuggled into her newest armchair at the B&B Italia showroom during I Saloni 2007. A mass of eager journalists desperately clutching their Moleskines were pushing for some time with Milan’s Spanish star, while Urquiola, serene and beautiful with her crystal blue eyes and sleek blonde hair tied back in a bun, intently engaged with her current interviewer. Apart from her ability to be, or at least seem to be, unperturbed by…

The Paper Planes chair by Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien arose from the creation of a design for a new fabric incorporating Swarovski crystal elements. The idea underlying the fabric came from studying folded graph paper. Paper Planes has a steel structure and cold-cured polyurethane foam upholstery. The cover comes in two versions and the chair is available with a high backrest or standard version that can be used to form a modular seating system.www.moroso.co.uk

Patricia Urquiola's second design for Moroso was inspired by rift valleys, hence the collection's name - Rift. The range includes two sofas, Aden Sofa and Afar Rift, plus Rift Armchair and Rift Chair. Just like tectonic plates, which diverge, collide and overlap, creating several layers, the Rift sofas and chairs convey in a highly unusual way, an effect of a sliding movement and asymmetric fusion. The structure of the seating is a steel frame embedded in polyurethane foam, with polypropylene…

Words by Kerstin ZumsteinI Saloni 2007: 24 halls, 2,578 exhibitors, 223,138 visitors (of which 123,391 came from 146 different countries) and God knows how many launch products. The Milan fair is a must for furniture fans and 2007 was no exception. So-called “cross-over products” ruled the stands and Kerstin Zumstein mingled among the merry to hear what the hottest international designers had to say PATRICIAURQUIOLASpanish-born designer Patricia Urquiola has become a household name in furniture design over the last six…