Within the landscape of Italian and international design, the names Cini Boeri and Patricia Urquiola signify two distinct yet deeply connected approaches to the discipline. Both have consistently redefined how we relate to furniture, not as static objects, but as dynamic components of everyday life. Their work speaks a cultured yet accessible language, experimental in form but consistently guided by a clear functional intent.
From a new way of imagining the traditional modular Italian sofa to the poetic use of transparent glass or exposed structures, both Boeri and Urquiola have engaged in a rethinking of domestic rituals. Their designs are not mere style exercises, but vehicles for cultural expression. Rather than following formal conventions, they have proposed new typologies, challenged norms, and brought the conversation on comfort into a more human, inclusive, and intelligent dimension.
Cini Boeri: Radical Functionality, Quiet Refinement
Boeri’s work has always pushed against the notion of furniture as untouchable art. For her, design must respond to life: adaptable, comfortable, and intuitive. The Strips seating system (Arflex, 1972), awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1979, exemplifies this philosophy. With its removable quilted covers and modular configuration, it reimagined the Italian sofa as a flexible, livable structure, perfect for fluid spaces and modern domestic needs.
Equally (or even more) iconic is her Ghost Chair (Fiam, 1987), a single-piece curved glass armchair that simultaneously suggests delicacy and strength. A design chair that continues to surprise audiences around the world, just like the first time, and gets people talking about it after almost 50 years. Transparent yet present, poetic yet utilitarian, the Ghost is a masterclass in material tension and conceptual clarity. Through such pieces, Boeri demonstrated how good design could be deeply radical without ever shouting. Her work upheld the dignity of the everyday, insisting that interiors should reflect real lives, not just aesthetic ambition.
Cini Boeri’s genius, however, isn’t widely recognized. In 1971, she designed the Serpentone Sofa (literally, the “big snake sofa”) for Arflex: the first sofa composed of small curved modules resembling a reptile. The sofa predated the namesake and even more famous sofa by the Swiss brand De Sede by a full 10 years. A truly revolutionary design, so much so that just last year, MDF Italia launched another seating system in this style, the Array. In short, the original Serpentone sofa certainly left its mark…
Patricia Urquiola: Sensorial Intelligence and Material Exploration
Urquiola represents a generation of designers who have infused the legacy of Italian modernism with new emotional and aesthetic codes. Her work moves effortlessly across scales and disciplines (architecture, textiles, industrial design) often merging rigorous structure with expressive softness.
The Tufty-Time sofa (B&B Italia, 2005) is among her most recognised contributions: a modular, deeply upholstered system that marries retro references with contemporary ergonomics. More recently, her Moncloud sofa for Cassina (2022) foregrounds sustainability through circular design, pairing an exposed wooden frame with generous, cloud-like cushions. Both projects articulate a vision of comfort that extends beyond physical ease into a fuller, sensory engagement with space.
Beyond product design, Urquiola has built a coherent and unmistakable design language visible in hotels, showrooms, retail environments, and public installations. Her work resides in collections at MoMA and the V&A, but its real strength lies in its emotional resonance, how it translates into spaces that are lived in, touched, remembered.
Different Trajectories, Shared Cultural Impact
Though their careers span different decades, Boeri and Urquiola converge in their shared belief that design must be socially responsive and humanly grounded. Boeri anticipated themes now central to sustainable practice (modularity, reparability, and the longevity of materials), while Urquiola has infused these concerns with narrative depth and cross-disciplinary fluency.
Their influence goes well beyond gender representation. What truly unites them is the intellectual precision of their choices, the responsiveness to cultural shifts, and their enduring contribution to how we understand contemporary interior design. Many of their pieces have become touchstones for a new generation of designers and brands navigating the evolving demands of a more ethical, flexible, and sensorial design culture.
