Sport by Patricia Urquiola

Sport unites a vibrant, high-tech contemporary expression with a compelling sustainability story. Tiny graphic floral forms play across its surface, infusing the upholstery with a characterful, intricate expression. Inspired by sportswear and the look of technical textiles, Urquiola gave Sport a sophisticated binding that adds tactile multidimensionality to its structure. Sport is the worlds first upholstery textile that is made out of 100% ocean-bound plastic.

Sport exemplifies Kvadrat’s commitment to conscious design principles and is created in close collaboration with #tide, a Swiss-based company committed to conscious entrepreneurship and to building a global supply chain for premium second-life raw material made from ocean-bound plastic waste. They have developed an award-winning method able to transform plastic litter into a high performance raw material that can be used to create high-quality durable materials.The post-consumer plastic used to manufacture Sport is mostly collected before it reaches the water no further than 10 km away from coastlines and on remote islands in Thailand. #tide works with the local community to prevent plastic waste to reach the ocean by collecting it from the shorelines and removing plastic waste from the ocean.

Marc Krebs, Co-founder #tide: "The partnership with Kvadrat means a lot to us: we share the philosophy that the highest standards in design and materials can be combined with important sustainable and ethical actions. Both, Kvadrat and #tide want to create a much-needed social and environmental impact that protect the oceans and supports coastal and island communities in their fight against plastic pollution”. ​

This means Sport offers sustainability benefits over other ocean plastic polyester textiles. These often incorporate plastic recovered much further from the coastlines and in the sea – up to 50 km away – meaning the plastic has already started to desintegrate in the sea. What is left is very porous. Hence, other ocean plastic textiles typically have to integrate either virgin polyester or polyester recycled from other post-consumer plastic sources.

The colour palette of Sport derives its signature colours from the three different coloured yarns used in its construction. The design comes in a selection of colour ways incorporating a scale of rich, warm and cold accents and neutral notes. These hues give the textile a bold look and enhance the qualities of the ocean-bound polyester.

Patricia Urquiola: “The colours for Sport are divided into ‘salt and pepper’ monochrome nuances, which illuminate the textile’s high-techgraphic character, and solid shades which fade its texture away.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS

About Patricia Urquiola

Patricia Urquiola studied architecture and design at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and completed her studies at the Politecnico di Milano (Technical University of Milan) where she graduated under the mentorship of Achille Castiglioni. She worked with Vico Magistretti at De Padova and later as head of design at Lissoni and Partners. In 2001 she founded her own studio in Milan, specialising in industrial product design, architecture, art direction and strategy consulting.

Her work is exhibited in art and design museums across the world including the MOMA in New York, the Decorative Arts Museum in Paris, the Triennale Museum in Milan, the Vitra Design Museum in Basel, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Stedelijk Museum of modern and contemporary art in Amsterdam and the Philadelphia Art Museum.

She has given lectures at universities across the world, is part of the Advisory Board of Politecnico di Milano and the Scientific Committee of the Foundation of La Triennale Museum in Milan. She was awarded the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts by the Spanish government.