Shin and Tomoko Azumi established their London-based design practice AZUMI in 1995. Working in the fields of product and furniture design, their work has a sculptural quality often laced with an element of surprise. In 2004, AZUMI was shortlisted for the Jerwood Applied Arts Prize, and designed a range for Benchmark, including the acclaimed Bench and a Half seating unit.

Jay Osgerby and Edward Barber met while studying at the Royal College of Art and formed Barber Osgerby soon after graduating in 1994. In September 2004, the design duo was awarded the 10th Jerwood Applied Arts Prize. Barber Osgerby’s work includes a bench design for St Thomas’s Cathedral in Portsmouth and, more recently, the Paris shelves manufactured by Classicon.

Patricia Urquiola studied at the faculty of architecture at Madrid Polytechnic. She was appointed as director at Lissoni Associati in 1996, and now runs an independent studio in Milan. Prolific in the last few years, Urquiola’s designs have been manufactured by B&B Italia, Moroso, Focarini, Alessi and Molteni. Urquiola, in collaboration with Hella Jongerius, has been selected to design the Ideal House for IMM Cologne 2005.