Open interview with Benedetta Tagliabue. Ask whatever you want to the architect, designer of the new chair Tina.
On the occasion of the presentation of the Tina chair, created by the architect as her first furniture design for home, we did not want to miss the opportunity to ask Benedetta everything you want. Tina, manufactured by Expormim was presented last week at the Milan Furniture Fair.
How to make your questions to Benedetta
You have three weeks to write your question AT THE END OF THIS POST IN THE COMMENTS AREA. Once all collected, we’ll refer to Benedetta and within days we’ll publish your feeds. Feel free and ask whatever you want to one of our favorite architects.
Benedetta Tagliabue (1963) studied at the Istituto Universitario de Architettura in Venice. Later she completes her training in New York, before settling in 1989 in Barcelona. A few years later would be associated personally and professionally with the architect Enric Miralles creating the studio Miralles Tagliabue EMBT, which has retained the name despite the death of Enric in 2000.
Roof covering on the Santa Caterina’s market in Barcelona
Together they worked on projects such as Barcelona Diagonal Mar Park (1997-2002), the rehabilitation of the Santa Caterina Market (1996-2005) or the new headquarters office tower of Gas Natural (1999-2006).
In Europe, they designed the new Scottish Parliament (1998-2004), the School of Music in Hamburg (1997-2000) and the expansion and restoration of the City of Utrecht (1996-2000). Benedetta Tagliabue was in charge of most of these works after the death of Miralles.
Office headquarters of Gas Natural in Barcelona
One of his most important works of that period was the Scottish Parliament, a project won in 1998 and completed in Edinburgh on 2004. Its design was highly acclaimed by the combination of a double feature organic and technological language, which has already become the hallmark of the study. Also for its many sights and different faces, all fitted perfectly in a place dominated on one side by a large cliff, the other on the streets and some luster of the outskirts of the city and at the same time by the ancient Palace Holyrood dated to the twelfth century, right now still the residence of the Queen of England in Scotland.
Her subsequent activity has gone beyond architecture also covering scenography and interior design, having worked for the dance company of Merce Cunningham (2009), exposure of the play by Isabel Coixet «From I to J» (2010) and interior design for Camper stores in Seville and Barcelona (2009-2010).
More of the Camper stores designed by Tagliabue in Barcelona y Sevilla
Among her recent completed works are the Square Ricard Vines in Lleida (2010), the design of the park for Xi’an International Horticulture Exhibition 2011 in China and the new L’Oréal Academy in Barcelona (2013).
In this last stage highlights especially the Spanish Pavilion for Shanghai Expo 2010 by its impressive wicker facade, designed by Benedetta Tagliabue as a bridge between Spanish and Chinese cultures.
With this same idea she just created the Tina chair for Expormim. Made of rattan with traditional wickework techniques, its inspiration comes from the fishermen’s nets, hence its casual Mediterranean appearance. It was presented at the Salone del Mobile de Milán.
Her works have received numerous awards, the latest, the lifetime honors involving the International Fellowship, awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in its 2010 edition. Today she combines her professional work with teaching at numerous universities and international schools, such as Columbia (2010) and currently teaches at Harvard University (2012). In 2004 she received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Napier University (Edinburgh, Scotland).
