Thought up in Barcelona 2

A Catalan
chair in the
Human Rights
Room
A lamp at the UN (Actar)
for both
outdoor
and

2
indoor how to wrap

up in a BarCeloNa
test a sandwich
urban-scale more
projects sustainably

thoughtpensatBarCeloNa
senior
A mop bucket citizens keep
with separate fit in public
Comfort and
water space
cutting-edge
compartments
architecture
in the desert

a candy
restaurant
a friendly
hospital
for the very
youngest A Music search and
recommendation
software that replicates

2
the selection process
of the human mind
a humanoide
robot that
helps people
clothes that
blend style
with technology

With the collaboration of:

THOUGHT UP IN
BarCeloNa 2
With the collaboration of:

The city is a hub of connections, an interwoven fabric which encourages the
exchange of ideas, teamwork between people, companies, knowledge centres
and institutions and, in short, progress.
Thought up in Barcelona 2 unveils these connections and analyses them. This
is a compilation of unique, innovative and pioneering cases that have been
developed in this city and which have often had international impact. They
are examples of Barcelona’s potential as an engine for innovation, creation
and internationalisation. They are the proof that a dream can often come true,
that the embryo of an idea can end up a marketable product and that a small
company can grow into one that sets world standards. The conditions exist in
Barcelona for this to happen, and much more.
The book you are reading provides examples demonstrating that innovation
frequently occurs during a collaborative process, among them is that of well-
established companies collaborating with design schools, which is a mutually
beneficial asset to be fostered: companies receive fresh ideas while students
work on real cases and gain a foothold into the labour market. So is that of a
fashion designer developing a project together with a technology centre with
the result being an innovative garment. These are a clear sign that this is the
road to follow.
There is no turning back. Today’s world is more connected than ever; new
technologies allow real-time exchanges to take place, something that had
The connected city never happened before. We should make good use of them. The sociologist
Zygmunt Bauman foresaw this back in 2000 when he spoke of “liquid moder-
nity”, which would explain the world’s current situation compared to the solid
7
and watertight modernity of the past.
In order to fit into to this new condition, individuals must be flexible and adapt-
able. Disciplines are no longer closed capsules, and it is precisely this flexibility
that enables synergies and collaborations to flow like water.
The philosopher Jeremy Rifkin in turn speaks of “empathic civilisation”, and
describes a new social fabric based on a wide variety of disciplines. It is evident
that this new global consciousness affects our way of working and creating;
minds are more adapted to the complexity of relations and networks present
around us. Here, however, we identify only a small but representative part of
this fabric in the city of Barcelona.
If the first Thought up in Barcelona illustrated the creativity to be found in
the city, this follow-up shows how this creativity is nurtured as a result of the
relationships formed between creators.
Who knows if this book will lead to new relations and synergies among its
protagonists. That would be a great epilogue for this story.

10 MUNICH

16 CENTRE D’INICIATIVES PER A LA REINSERCIÓ — Made in CIRE
20 RAMÓN úbEDA, OTTO CANALDA + METALARTE — Inout Lamp
26 LÉKUÉ — Luki

30 CARLOS & JUAN RIVADULLA — Ecofrego

32 PAL ROBOTICS — REEM

36 *S,C,P,F...

42 TRES TINTAS BARCELONA— Wall-à-porter

46 MADRE MÍA DEL AMOR HERMOSO — Naturaleza

50 EMILIANO LÓPEZ, MÓNICA RIVERA — Hotel Aire de Bárdenas
56 MARCADIFERENCIA — Boc’n Roll
58 HOSPITAL SANT JOAN DE DÉU — Friendly Hospital Programme
62 22@ URBAN LAB

68 CAPMAR + IED BARCELONA — Bus Stop with Solar-Powered Information Panel
72 BICICLETES MONTY — E-Bikes

76 LAGRANJA + SANTA&COLE — Key

80 SALVADOR FÁBREGAS, ALICIA ARTEAGA
+ MICROARQUITECTURA — Equipment for Health
84 GRAN TEATRE DEL LICEU — Opera in the street
86 MORITZ
8
92 LOOP — VideoartFestival and Fair
98 DDT EFECTES ESPECIALS— Pan’s Labyrinth

102 BMAT — Ella

104 U-PLAY STUDIOS — Striker Manager

108 CASES i ASSOCIATS — Information design

112 ESPINET/UBACH ARQUITECTES — Celler Ferrer Bobet

118 RODRIGO PINTOS — Denota System

122 ALEX TROCHUT — Rolled Gold+

126 MARC MONZÓ — Sun

128 FIGUERAS INTERNATIONAL SEATING — Bonamusa Chair

134 MARTÍ GUIXÉ — Cand Restaurant
y
138 RÜCKER LYPSA — CareClass

140 MANGO

146 ALBA SYNCHROTRON

Munich is one of those companies that knows how to reinvent itself and
adapt to the changing times. Its trainers have become exclusive objects
present in the most desirable wardrobes in countries like Italy, the Neth-
erlands, Portugal, Greece, Japan and Russia.
The story of Munich began as a small holding owned by the Berneda family
in 1939. From early on, the company specialised in sports footwear and
was a pioneer in the production of sports shoes in Spain. The year 1964
saw the inclusion of the brand’s X symbol and the change in name from
Berneda to Munich. The Goal model is created in 1978. Inspired by indoor
football shoes, it suposes a revolutionary move in the 1970s, a time when
the world of sport was having a strong impact on streetwear. The company
underwent restructuring, in the areas of both technical innovation and
design, for the purpose of meeting the level of demand of the moment.
Some of the improvements made included changing the production sys-
tem, the introduction of highly innovative materials (microfibre, kangaroo
skin, natural rubber, etc.), which offered greater comfort, in addition to
technical excellence and quality.

Munich
10 11

www.munichsports.com
www.munichmyway.com

Turning a sneaker
into fashion
footwear

Xavi Berneda
marketing director

A key to success that combines
design with long years New technologies are also present in Munich’s business plan. Through
of experience its website (wwww.munichmyway.com), customers can tailor their train-
ers according to their tastes, by choosing the sole colour, the finishings
and the leather of the model, for instance. Once designed, the trainer is
manufactured and delivered to customers, who will have a unique shoe,
made to their taste and convenience.

At the start of the 2000s, always alert to trends, the company decided to
give their trainers a daily use and began to produce street versions of
their classics. The Goal range was relaunched in 2002, but this time the
indoor football shoe was redesigned for the world of fashion. In this way,
in addition to the pairs of sports shoes Munich manufactured each season,
the company added a new range, which would also take the female market
into account in its production as of then. Appearing later were the Roc
12 13
line, inspired by running shoes, and the Acropol line, based on footwear
used for Taekwondo, both in street versions.
Munichmyway,
exclusive
shoes for
individuals

munich

14 15

Distributed around the world, Munich footwear is produced in a factory
employing fifty workers and which is also innovative in the technology
Munich has found its place it utilises, including solar energy. Brothers Xavier and David Berneda,
in a very demanding international partners and directors of Munich, have lived their profession from a very
market owing to its design and early age. They are the third generation of a family devoted to the manu-
comfort
facture of sports footwear. Since 2000, these two men have been behind
the Munich presence in the fashion sector.
Munich has been awarded with the Cambra a la Gestió del Disseny 2009
prize organised by the Cambra de Comerç de Barcelona and BCD Barce-
lona Centre de Disseny.

munich

Training, occupation
and integration are the
three lines of action that
move CIRE to design
personalised social and
workforce integration
pathways for
each inmate

The brand Made in CIRE is a programme run
by the Centre d'Iniciatives per a la Reinserció
(Centre for Reintegration Initiatives) depending
on the Department of Justice of the Government
of Catalonia. Its main mission is to achieve the
Catalan Bag,
from Martín Azúa
reintegration of correctional facility inmates into
and Gerard Moliné society and the workforce through the manufac-
ture of design products.

Madein CIRE
This collaboration between designers and Made
in CIRE began in 2004 when Martín Azúa and
Gerard Moliné, two well-known industrial design-
ers, created the Catalan Bag for production in
correctional facilities.

by
16
centre d’iniciatives The success of the bag both in sales and social 17

acceptance led to the idea of setting up the
per a la reinserció
www.madeincire.cat
CIRE Space, a platform for developing ideas to
promote new quality and contemporary Made
in CIRE products.
Made in CIRE is not the only workforce reinte-
gration programme developed by the Centre.
Inmates can also work in construction, forest
A socially cleaning and industrial clothing; but it is the
innovative and only programme that is presented as a recog-
nised brand, the results of which reach society
committed and which has commercial distribution to retail
project establishments and specialist trade fairs.
Several models for the series
Enfarcella’t, from M. Jesús Fargas
Blai Puig
coordinator of THE commission
of ideas for made in cire's product
creation

Paola Roig
Made in Cire's
Coordinator
Adolf Cabruja
chief Director of CIRE

Pieces by well-known designers
manufactured by correctional Kima Guitart Lluïsa Jover
facility inmates

There is a very diverse range of Made
in CIRE products manufactured in prison
facilities and they involve all kinds of tech-
niques and materials: clothing, locksmithery,
carpentry, printing and ceramics. They
are useful products featuring quality and
innovative design. Nani Marquina Guillem Ferran
Among the many items produced, the most
noteworthy products are the Enfarcella’t
and Entaula’t line of picnic and kitchen
accessories by María Jesús Fargas, the
new range of teapots by different design-
ers, the bag lamps by Pete Sans and
Regina Saura and the Neobarretina cap
by Gerard Moliné, which was selected
for the 2009 Delta Prizes, besides the
previously-mentioned Catalan bag and the Designer teapots

Neobarretina, from Gerard Moliné DIN furniture, from Martin Azúa Encens, from Jesús Sánchez Gallego
18 different versions of it: the African bag and 19

the Catalan-African bag.
For the purpose of attracting and promoting
new talent, Made in CIRE has set up a grant
for the FAD Incubator, through which CIRE
This is a design line chooses one of the presented designs and
that gives value added produces it. This collaboration between FAD
and prestige to work
and CIRE has allowed young designers to
by inmates.
be able to see their work manufactured.
In this way society
can appreciate the This is the case of Jesús Sánchez Gallego,
capacities and skills designer of Encens , a vertical incense
they have acquired burner that collects the ash and prevents
it from falling everywhere.
The network created by Made in CIRE
(designers, inmates, FAD, retailers, etc.) is
an example of how social innovation with
commercial openings is possible.

centre d’iniciatives per a la reinserció

It is not often that you can find a lamp that serves for both indoor and outdoor
use; in other words, one that can resist being under the sun and rain, and
withstand wind and other weather conditions, while fulfilling the requirements
of interior design.
Inout is the result of the intuition that there was room in the market for a deco-
rative indoor lamp – in – that can also be installed outdoors without problems
– out. This lamp looks just as good in a living room as it does in a garden. Its
familiar silhouette recalls that of your classic standing lamp.
It is manufactured from rotational moulded plastic, in this case 100% recyclable
polyethylene, a waterproof material that is resistant to knocks and that can
come in different colours: white, red and on an special edition Bombay Sap-
phire blue. The lamp shade and foot are made from a single piece, making
it easy to carry while giving off a uniform light. Another feature is size – the
largest version stands 2.2 metres tall.
The sum of these features has led this lamp to achieve great success both
nationally and internationally, and it has set a standard in product design. It is
one of those once-in-a-lifetime success stories.

Inout Lamp
20
by RAMON ÚBEDA, OTTO CANALDA
+ METALARTE
www.metalarte.com

An indoor and
Ramón Úbeda
Román Riera
MARKETING DIRECTOR AND OWNER
OF metalarte
outdoor lamp
DESIGNER
Otto Canalda that has set an
international
dESIGNER

Carlos Riera
metalarte'S ART DIRECTOR standard

It is featured in a monographic
book: Inout & Friends, a 400-
page publication released in
2009 by Ramón Úbeda and Nova
Era Publications.

A huge, translucent,
Inout is a design by Ramón Úbeda and Otto Canalda, and is self-supporting and
produced by Metalarte. Úbeda is a multi-faceted creator who waterproof lamp made
can be defined as an architect by education, journalist by as a single piece
profession and designer by vocation. He collaborates with
the most important Spanish and international magazines,
while also being the author of a large number of books and
a curator of exhibitions. Canalda is a young designer who graduated from the
Elisava design school and works at BD Barcelona Design in the department
where new products are developed.
Finally, Metalarte is a family-owned Catalan company that was founded in the
1930s, but which began to specialise in lighting in the 1960s. Taking advantage
of their change in direction, the company decided to work with avant-garde
designers and to set standards in the manufacture of light fittings and lamps.
It has also set up the Metalab project, which promotes collaborations with a
new generation of designers.

22

RAMÓN ÚBEDA, OTTO CANALDA + METALARTE

The Inout lamp received the Good Design Award from the Japanese Ministry
of Industry in 2008. However, the greatest acknowledgement for the company
has been the successful sales of its products, which can be found in diverse
places all over the world: from offices to luxury hotels, zoos and restaurants,
and in television, cinema, at the University of Tokyo and even in China.

24 25

Inout can be found practically
anywhere in the world:
from Tokyo to China
via London

RAMÓN ÚBEDA, OTTO CANALDA + METALARTE

Lemon squeezer
This utensil makes it easy
to obtain juice from a lemon
without seeds or splashing.
What is more, its closure system Lékué is a Catalan company that was founded in
means you can even keep the
rest of the lemon in the fridge 1980 selling brooms and rubber ice trays. 2005
longer. was a strategic year of change for the group,
materialising in a heavy investment in R&D for the
research into new materials and the optimisation
of designs. Much has happened since the com-
pany’s beginnings and Lékué has been able to
redirect its product lines to strengthen its image
as an innovative brand that is fresh and open to
its target market. It is now the world leader in
innovative products for the kitchen made from
platinum silicone.
Practicality, quality, innovation and cutting-edge
design are behind the philosophy of Lékué. These
values have allowed the company to grow rapidly

Luki
in recent years. Their annual turnover is now
approaching 15 million euros.
Lékué has many household product lines, but their
most successful, innovative and revolutionary is
the steam or papillote case, made from 100%
platinum silicone. This state-of-the-art material
by
lÉkué has unique qualities resulting from its exceptional
26 27

flexibility, resistance and thermal adaptability. This
www.lekue.es
makes platinum silicone ideal for cooking food
in ovens and microwaves.
Lékué is currently collaborating with different
industrial designers to create new products for
Technology and design its kitchen and household lines. One of the most
in the kitchen fruitful collaborations is with the Swiss designer
living in Barcelona Luki Huber, who works with
the idea of combining functional design with
the properties of platinum silicone to achieve,
improve, facilitate and reinvent known objects Cooking mesh
A flexible elastic net where food
and processes for use in professional and private is introduced for steaming and
kitchens. draining. This system allows food
to keep its nutrients and aromas,
Luki Huber
designer
The Luki Huber range by Lékué includes a fold- and achieves healthy, light and
ing steamer, a cooking mesh, a steam case with fat-free cooking.

Xavier Costa tray, a lemon squeezer and an ice cream mould,
general manager
lekué among others.

Steam case with tray
A new format with removable
inner support that allows
liquids to be drained from
food while cooking or when
stored, keeping in the
Folding Steamer
authentic flavour of all of
A healthy, quick and practical way to the ingredients. Food can be
cook without added fats. It features given an aromatic touch by
heat-resistant handles and non- placing spices or ingredients
drip grooves for easy handling. The on the tray.
flexibility of its material means it can
be folded to gain space in the kitchen.

LÉKUÉ has
revolutionised the kitchen
products sector

28 Advantages of Lékué products are their high resistance to extreme temperatures, 29

excellent non-stick properties, uniform cooking, and ergonomics. They are
easy-to-clean and use, and are environmentally-friendly (their basic component
is silica, present naturally in rocks and beaches). And they are very flexible, a
LÉKUÉ has great experience quality that makes them easy to disassemble and store.
in developing platinum silicone Lékué products have been acknowledged at local and international levels, with
products for professional and special mention made of the prize from Madrid Fusión 2007 and the Good
private kitchen use Design Award 2007, the Trends 2009 award from the environmental exhibition
held in Frankfurt and The 2009 Best Hit Items 30 by Nikkei Trendy in Japan.
These awards confirm the excellent acceptance of products developed by
Lékué by the public. Lékué has obtained the prize Cambra a la Gestió del
Disseny 2010, a prize call from the Commerce Chamber of Barcelona and the
BCD Barcelona Centre de Disseny.

lekué

Although innovations across the surface being nected directly to the
have been applied to all cleaned. larger compartment
sorts of home appliances While Carlos Rivadulla, forming the base. In this
for years, the mop bucket inventor of the Ecofrego, way, the bucket keeps its
has remained practically was performing military balance and better use is
unchanged since it was service, it occurred to him made of the space. The
invented some fifty years that there was a better dirty water compartment
ago. solution – two separate is attached to the main
The current way of mop- compartments in the same compartment but with its
ping floors is neither bucket. This practical own mop wringer, so that
efficient nor environmen- cleaning solution is also the dirt, dust and liquids
tally-friendly. Normally, much greener. picked up when the floor An innovative and efficient
the bucket is filled with Ecofrego is a mop bucket is mopped are not mixed solution that offers three-
water and mopping starts, consisting of two mop with the clean water. This fold savings: in water,
with the dirt that is picked wringers and two com- arrangement achieves a
up being mixed with the partments, one for clean substantial improvement
time and detergent
water in the bucket. The water and the other for in the quality of water
result of this is that the dirty water. The clean used for mopping floors.
dirt is really only spread water wringer is con- This new strategy of

30
Ecofrego
by
CARLOS&JUAN RIVADULLA 31

www.ecofrego.com

eco-friendly cleaning lona: Carlos Rivadulla, in Lliça de Vall. Ecofrego
provides three-fold sav- a lawyer specialising in is on sale in some 60 DIY
ings: in water, given that patents, was the inven- stores all over Spain and
A mop bucket with the bucket does not need
emptying several times;
tor, and Juan Rivadulla is
the entrepreneur who has
also in the Carrefour and
Hipercor supermarket
separate water in time, because time is taken the business for- chains. It will soon be
compartments not wasted in filling the
bucket; and a 50% sav-
ward. They also have the
support of Manuel Jalón,
available in other Span-
ish retail outlets. They
ings in detergents, in an Aragonese military are also in negotiations
addition to stopping a engineer who founded the with chains from other
large amount of chemical Rodex company, consid- countries. Aside from the
substances from being ered the inventor of the bucket, they have also
Juan Rivadulla
Entrepreneur and creator of Carlos Rivadulla discharged into rivers and mop bucket and wringer. developed a range of sus-
ecofrego lawyer specialised in patents
and creator of ecofrego the sea. Ecofrego was awarded a tainable products, such
Josep Añols
This simple but inge- national patent and has as microfibre mops, light
designer nious household design its international patent and telescopic mop poles,
received the ADI-FAD pending. The product was brooms and a line of
2009 Delta silver prize for designed by Josep Añols environmentally-friendly
industrial design. Behind of Staffmedia and is detergents.
it are two brothers from manufactured by a plas-
Lleida residing in Barce- tics injection company

All of the fantasies seen in futuristic films made in the 1950s and 60s have just
become reality. Now we can talk to family members living on the other side of
the world while seeing their faces, programme home appliances by phone and
fly as if we were taking a bus. Who has never had the fantasy of having a robot
to clean the kitchen, do the shopping or make lunch? The Catalan company
PAL Robotics is working to put humanoid robots at the service of companies
and citizens. The robotics team is a part of the PAL Group, a UAE-company
promoting business solutions for the security, construction, tourism, vehicle
hire, entertainment and commerce sectors.
REEM-B is known throughout the world as one of the most advanced human-
oid robots. These creations incorporate mechanics, electronics and software
never before used outside the field of R&D. The idea of PAL Robotics is that
of exploring potential markets to promote the daily use of humanoid robots,
which can help to improve our work and our quality of life.

REEM
by
32
PAL ROBOTICS
www.pal-robotics.com
33

A humanoid robot
to help people

Davide Faconti
PAL Robotics wants to
general manager
pal robotics
be the first to market
these robots and
make them a part of
REEM-B
robot everyday life

The story of REEM starts with REEM-A, the first model in a series capable of
walking and playing chess with grand masters in this sport. REEM-B appeared
later. It could walk 1.5 km/hour, carry a load weighing 13 kg and find its way
around an interior setting. It was then perfected until the arrival of the new and
current version, REEM-H. This robot can find its way around different settings
and provide information. It features an autonomous navigation system, a simple
touch screen and a face voice-recognition system. In other words, it can speak
and obey commands. In addition, REEM-H also has two mechanical arms that
allow it to carry small packages. It also has a computer system that supports
a wide range of multimedia applications: interactive map of the area, specific
information (weather, nearby restaurants, transport timetables, etc.) and can
allow face-to-face communications by means of video conferencing.

REEM-A

REEM-B

34 35

REEM-H

REEM-H is 1.66 m tall and weighs 100 kg. Its motorised arms and head give
it some expression, and its wheeled base lets it move at 5 km/h. It also has a
platform that is transformed into a cart for carrying small objects. It runs on a
lithium battery with autonomy for up to eight consecutive hours. Camera and
laser-based sensors let the robot move without running into obstacles and it
can also go up and down stairs. This robot could be the answer to many of
Barcelona engineering your daily household chores.
and design for the REEM-H is designed for companies that need robots for specific activities, for
development of a example at trade fairs, conferences, festivals and shopping centres.
service humanoid robot

pal robotics

TV ad for BMW
The effectiveness
of emotional
advertising

Phrases such us “Redecorate your life” or actions such as putting your
hand through the car window to feel the breeze come directly from adver-
tising, and are the work of the same Catalan agency *S,C,P,F…, which at
the time chose to create emotional advertising. Finding empathy with
people and giving advertising its own content are some of this agency’s
keys to success.
Some years ago they changed BMW’s advertising language, moving from a
rational model that explained the technical features of a car to an emotional
one, starting with the campaign “Do you like driving?” and culminating
with the success of “Be water, my friend”, and others that have followed,
confirming that this sort of advertising is what connects most with today’s
consumer. This campaign, like water, flows and adapts to unexpected
places. It was decisive for sales, which were estimated to have risen by
73.1% compared to the time before the advertisement appeared.

*S,C,P,F…
36 37

www.scpf.com

“Be water, my friend” is the most seen
commercial on Internet, the most talked
about and the most parodied

Luis Cuesta
general manager *s,c,p,f…
Toni Segarra Ignasi Puig
executive and creative director *s,c,p,f… managing director *s,c,p,f…

David Caballero
executive creative director

Ikea, BMW, Vueling
and Vodafone are some
of the clients that
have been loyal
to the agency

The philosophy of *S,C,P,F… is based on long-term ideas, and its style
promotes values like consistency and excellence. It is no wonder their cli-
ents have been loyal to them for many years. Their campaigns for IKEA and
Vueling, and one of the most recent ones for Loctite, are remembered for
their originality and effectiveness. One example of this is the adaptations
in dozens of television programmes, articles in the press, newspaper front
pages, interviews on radio programmes and hundreds of versions made by
viewers and uploaded onto Internet of the campaign “Be water, my friend”.
Another of their premises is that of collaborating and the “creative mix”.
*S,C,P,F… works regularly with other creative agents. Its collaboration
with the agency El Terrat is called “Improving the Present” (Mejorando lo
Presente) and has the goal of generating alternative contents to seduce
those big brands looking for different formulas to the traditional TV ad
and also to main television channels.

38 39
Commercial for BMW

Commercial for IKEA
*s,c,p,f…

40
*S,C,P,F… started at the end of 1995 when Toni Segarra, Luis Cuesta, Félix 41

Fernández de Castro and Ignasi Puig left the Delvico Bates agency to set
up a new independent project. For years now they have been a prestigious
advertising agency at the fore of creative communication and responsible
for the advertising of national and international leading brands such as
BMW, IKEA, Procter & Gamble and Vodafone. The best creators and young
talents from around the world work or have worked in one of their different
offices (Barcelona, Madrid, Buenos Aires and Miami).
Outstanding among the numerous prizes the agency has won are the
Grand Prix awarded at the Sol Festival in San Sebastián (Iberoamerican
Advertising Festival) on five occasions, three for television (2 with BMW
and 1 with IKEA) and two for graphics (Panama Jack and BMW). In addition,
the “Hand” advertisement for BMW has been chosen by the press as the
best commercial of the last 25 years at the Sol Festival. In turn, “Be water
my friend” won the Golden Amp in 2006 and the Prize for Effectiveness.
In fact, *S,C,P,F... is the only agency to have won the Grand Prix at the Efis
Ad forDamm

(Effectiveness Awards) three times.

*s,c,p,f…

Bolas, Míriam Ocáriz

Happy, La Casita de Wendy

Daks, Jorge Zuazo
Pelos, Julieta Álvarez
Perlas, Míriam Ocáriz

Nu, Jorge Zuazo
42
Wall-à-porter by
tres tintas Behind this suggestive name is the latest collection of wallpapers by Tres 43

BARCELONA
www.trestintas.com
Tintas, a company that knows how to redirect and adapt a product as classic
as wallpaper to new times.
In order to give its products a fresh, contemporary and innovative style, the
company has collaborated with such well-known designers as Javier Mariscal,
Enric Jardí, Sophie Leblanc and Inocuodesign, among a host of others, manu-
facturing and distributing wallpaper with their designs.
Wallpaper is more To date Tres Tintas Barcelona has presented these collections: Revival, Déjà
fashionable vu, All City Papers, 9 Selvas and Wall-à-porter, which was created by fashion
than ever designers. This was a way to take prêt-à porter from clothing to wall coverings,
hence the name. This fifth collection features young, talented and talked-about
Dani Bermejo designers, such as Txell Miras, Míriam Ocáriz, La Casita de Wendy, Jorge
Alberto Bermejo
MArketing director
art director Zuazo, Julieta Álvarez and Dora Romero.
Wall-à-Porter has started a productive dialogue between fashion and interior
design, an exchange that is not limited to only wallpaper. This collection finds
Jaime Bermejo
the company diversifying its products; it has incorporated the manufacture
responsible of contracting
of fabrics using the design from its wallpaper. This new line allows wallpaper

Bolas, Míriam Ocáriz
You can dress your walls in the
latest creations by young,
talented and talked-about
fashion designers

Pelos, Julieta Álvarez

Zerkalo, Txell Miras
44 to be matched with fabrics to create integrated décor, combining walls with 45

curtains, cushions, upholstery, etc. This presents a new world of possibilities

Happy, La Casita de Wendy
for dressing and decorating interiors.
Tres Tintas Barcelona was founded in 2004, a subsidiary of Papeles Pintados
Aribau, and was established independently of its parent company, managed
by the third generation of the Bermejo family. As a result, the new company
gains from the know-how and experience of Papeles Pintados Aribau, but with
a vision that is more daring, creative and more design-oriented, and it has a
desire adapt to the times provided by the younger generation of the family.
And if that is not enough, there is also a tailor-made wallpaper service. At a
time when customising and the desire to be different has become a distinct
trend, Tres Tintas offers a unique product to clients seeking exclusivity.
With Wall-à-Porter,
Tres Tintas Barcelona has its sights set internationally, and its products can be
diversification is key:
found in markets as diverse as the UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Mexico, matching wallpaper with
Russia and Hong Kong. the upholstery on the sofa
is now possible

tres tintas

The latest discoveries in
technology allow fabrics
to convey emotions and
sensations

Naturaleza
by
46
madre mía del Laura Morata is not just any fashion designer. Her designs, under her label
Madre Mía del Amor Hermoso, have a somewhat unusual aim in the world of
47

amor hermoso
www.madre-mia.com
fashion: its pieces produce different sensations and emotions in their wearers.
With a modern, contemporary and fresh design, the garments Laura Morata
designs are unique, and can even change your state of mind depending on
the outfit you choose.
Her collection – Naturaleza (Nature)– is the culmination of years of research.
The result is the application of technology to natural fabrics without modifying
A clothes their properties, texture or characteristics.
collection that The collection is inspired by the materials and sensations present in nature,
which are able to bring until now unthinkable sensorial qualities to a garment.
blends style Prints with a thousand leaves, tree dresses, and skirts camouflaged as leop-
with technology ards, daisies or bats are only some of the pieces to be found in this collection.
Research into intelligent fabrics has allowed Madre Mía del Amor Hermoso to
bring together into the one product design and technology, two historically very

Laura Morata
designer

Clothes inspired by
behaviours found
in nature

distant worlds. While it is true that technology has been applied in the textile
industry for years, it had been restricted until now to sports, work clothes,
resistant materials and safety garments. The novelty of Madre Mía del Amor
Hermoso is that these technologies are applied to everyday clothes with soft
48
and delicate fabrics. The label has been able to take advantage of the latest 49

innovations in technology and science.
In order to carry out her research, Laura Morata collaborated with Leitat,
a technology centre in Terrassa, which provides advice and technological
resources to companies seeking to innovate. This collaboration has enabled
Madre Mia del Amor Hermoso to apply technologies such as microcapsules,
luminescent dyes, plasma and biomaterials to fabrics in order to create gar-
ments with very special qualities.
Among these are dresses that regulate body temperature to prevent feeling hot
or cold; dresses with scents that produce well-being and relaxation; stainproof
dresses; clothes with anti-static microcapsules that help to relieve you of your
daily stress; mosquito-repellent dresses that let you enjoy summer days without
being bitten by those bothersome insects; and glow-in-the-dark dresses. These
are examples of the different collections Laura Morata has designed to date.

madre mía del amor hermoso

In the middle of the Bardenas desert, between wheat fields and wind turbines,
there is a small 4-star hotel that has received several architectural awards, the
most recent award being from the Seventh Iberoamerican Biennial of Archi-
tecture and Urbanism. The unique landscape of eroded and silent spaces
that surrounds it has made it currently one of the most interesting relaxation
destinations.
Hotel Aire de Bardenas, designed by young Barcelona-based Latin American
architects Emiliano López and Mónica Rivera, is a light, dismountable and
recyclable complex made using simple metal panelled cubes. Its design was
inspired by the local, small and simple farm buildings, and it encloses a central
courtyard that is protected from the blustery cierzo, the strong north-westerly
wind that is typical of this region.
Comfort and cutting-edge
architecture in
the middle of the desert

50
by
Emiliano López
HotelAire deBárdenas 51

Mónica Rivera
www.lopez-rivera.com

This is a hotel that
transforms the simplicity
and austerity of the arid
landscape into comfort and
cutting-edge architecture

The rooms were carefully designed to guarantee comfort and tranquillity. Their
most characteristic features are the “habitable windows”, which jut out from
the rooms to become a perfect place to read or contemplate the landscape.
Their north-easterly orientation means they never receive direct sun.
Mónica Rivera (Puerto Rico, 1972) and Emiliano López (Argentina, 1971), who
began working together in Barcelona in 2001, have always tried to accentu-
ate simplicity and harmony with the surroundings in their projects. Hotel Aire
de Bárdenas has placed them at the fore of current architectural design, and
has led them to win, among others, the Young Architects’ Award at the 10th
Spanish Architecture Biennale and the Architectural Review first prize for
52 The initial idea for this project was for a discreet action in which the design emerging architecture. 53

and construction processes responded to the setting. The hotel is therefore
practically unnoticeable from the distance, as only the large boxes, those
used to harvest fruit in the area, can be distinguished. These structures are
recyclable and easy to move. They have a double function; they serve as a
façade to protect against the strong wind while allowing air to ventilate the
interior space.
The hotel is laid out on one level with 22 rooms, 13 of which have private
gardens. The volumes housing the rooms – simple, monochrome and cubic
structures – are scattered about the site. Both the built volumes and the
simple and silent spaces formed by gardens blend seamlessly with the aus-
tere landscape. The stone and earth exteriors provide a finish resembling the
Bardenas desert, and merge with the typical forms, colours and vegetation of
the surrounding desert and irrigated fields: fruit trees, vegetables and herbs
planted in the inner gardens.

Emiliano López - Mónica Rivera

The strong agricultural character of the
area, the Bardenas Desert and the wind were
elements that inspired these young architects
to turn this inhospitable landscape into a place
of comfort and relaxation

54

Emiliano López - Mónica Rivera

Marcadiferencia is an eco- or biscuits to work or the wrapper provides a
friendly company founded school without the need clean surface to rest the
by Jordi Mas and Meritxell for using polluting wrap- sandwich on while eating.
Hernández that has taken pers such as aluminium It can later be machine
a new approach to the foil or plastic bags. washed or wiped clean A life-lasting wrapping
handkerchief bundle. Boc’n Roll is a sustainable with a damp cloth. for the cost of two rolls
The idea arose one day and reusable wrapper. It Boc’n Roll is very light- of foil paper
when Jordi was speak- consists of two textile lay- weight and takes up very
ing to his grandmother ers (cotton and polyester) little space, and as it
about the way things were on one side, and a tech- replaces disposable wrap-
in her day. She told him nical ecological plastic pers, it encourages a habit
about the handkerchief (specially-designed for of reuse and saving.
bundle and how, among food) on the other. This A good distribution
other things, it was used plastic does not produce network has allowed this
to carry the midday meal toxic substances either product to be used by
to the fields. Jordi had a in its manufacture or its 400.000 people.
brain wave and saw a way destruction. It is highly There are many environ-
of adapting the idea to the resistant and does not mentally-friendly
present day. lose shape. The Boc’n Roll households who are bring-
Given a new design, this has a Velcro closure that ing about sustainability
product can now be used allows it to be adjusted to through small gestures
to take a sandwich, fruit the right size. Once open, like this.

56
Boc’n Roll by
marcadiferencia 57

www.marcadiferencia.com
www.bocanroll.com

or how to wrap
a sandwich
more
sustainably

Jordi Mas
manager marcadiferencia
Meritxell Hernández
manager
marcadiferencia

Barcelona’s hospitals are pioneer in the
field of medicine in Spain, but the Sant
Joan de Déu maternity and children’s
hospital is also a pioneer in the imple-
mentation of a family-centred model of
health care. The name given to this is
the Friendly Hospital Programme.
This model of care follows the European
Charter for Children in Hospital and acts
on different levels, in a bid to make a
child’s stay in hospital the least traumatic
possible. The first step is to involve the

Friendly Hospital
families fully in the process of delivering
health care. We may soon see one of the
parents being able to accompany the
child in the operating theatre until the

programme
anaesthetic takes effect. For now, how-
ever, they are present for all of the other
necessary medical procedures. Work is
also being done so that within one year
most of the rooms in the children’s ward
are individual and with another bed for
58
by hospital the patient’s mother or father. 59

sant joan de déu Another important line of action is the
incorporation of personnel who are
www.fsjd.org

fully trained in techniques for dealing
with situations of anxiety. An example
of this are the Pallapupes, who are not
volunteers acting as clowns but pro-
a friendly fessional actors with special health
hospital for care training who help staff at times
the youngest of emotional stress: attaching a drip
on a child is easier if a Pallapupes is
entertaining the patient. Other profes-
sionals include music therapists or the
The Friendly Hospital child life specialist, a concept imported
programme aims to provide from the United States and which has
children with a pleasant been included in the programme at the
environment, even if
Manel del Castillo
general manager sant joan de déu hospital Maria Josep Planas they are hospitalised
planning and quality manager
sant joan de déu hospital

San Joan de Déu Hospital. The role of
a “child” life specialist is, among oth-
ers, to detect fears experienced by
children and their families and to dispel
or allay them, to provide a space for
expressing feelings and for emotional
support, to encourage emotional ties
and to improve understanding of the
experiences encountered in a hospital.
In order for everything to work, it is
essential that the programme should
form part of institutional policy and,
consequently, it should be supported
by the hospital management. Further-
more, it is vital that there should be a
good team of volunteers to support all
of these initiatives.
The hospital has initiated a general
refurbishment programme that is guided
by the hospital’s philosophy for children
and their families. The programme has
so far allowed the oncology and child-
youth mental health units to be refur-
60
bished. The new spaces have meant by Xavier Mariscal, and the creation of 61

a change from the traditional view of a virtual community inside the hospital
functional effectiveness to the concept called Tok-Tok, by which children who
of balance between function, appear- are unable to leave their beds can com-
ance and user convenience. A less municate with each other and with all
impersonal hospital is an important way other patients. Additionally, children
of showing that the hospital’s attention can continue their schooling from the
is focused on patients and their families. hospital in a way that suits their medi-
The new units are cheerful, with artwork cal conditions by attending the hos-
The basic points of the programme
on walls that stimulates visual interest; pital school and through the Internet range from everyday details to
they have individual rooms in addition classroom. overall actions inside the hospital,
to spaces for communal recreation, for Finally, the Friendly Hospital is a social such as the works programme and
the children and their parents. innovation initiative that can help direct action affecting its health
The Friendly Hospital also takes small improve the psychological condition care model
details like communication and informa- and health of children who need hos-
tion sheets into account, with graphics pitalisation.

hospital sant joan de déu

22@Barcelona came into existence in the year 2000 as an initiative of
Barcelona City Council to transform 200 hectares of industrial land in
Poblenou into an innovative district with modern spaces for the strategic
concentration of intensive knowledge activities.
In order to achieve this goal, a new model of compact city was created,
where the most innovative companies co-exist with universities, research
centres, training and technology transfer institutions, homes, service facili-
ties and green spaces. A new economic model was also defined based
on the development of five sector clusters: Media, ITC (Information and
Communications Technology), Energy, Design and Medical Technologies,
and on the materialisation of different strategic projects to facilitate the
growth of companies, creativity, networking, attraction and retention of
talent and the access to innovation and technology, among others.

22@
62 63

urban
lab
www.22barcelona.com/urbanlab

The district,
a real space
for testing
innovative
projects

22@Barcelona is
becoming a testing
ground where innovative
projects can become
22@Urban Lab is one of the projects supporting the innovation strategy reality
of 22@Barcelona and of the city, being offered to companies and entities
as a laboratory where they can put into practice new technologies and
initiatives on an urban scale, collaborating to make Barcelona a bench-
mark for innovation, in all of its fields. The Urban Lab is characterised as
a “base for tests and pilot studies” for products and services with urban
impact. It is a space for innovative tests regarding unresolved needs and
initiatives that benefit residents of the city.
Any company with an innovative project that has direct impact on the
functioning of the city can propose the carrying out of a pilot study in the
district. These proposals are studied by a technical innovation committee
that meets to assess projects according to pre-established criteria, which
place special emphasis on the innovative nature of the idea and its cor-
respondence with the city council’s current priorities, in addition to the
benefits it provides to citizens and the functioning of the city. The commit-
tee is made up of city council technical officers who evaluate the space
for the pilot study. The duration of these pilot studies tend to be one year.

64 65

Implementation of 12 Eco Digital
outdoor lights with
LED technology

22@ urban lab

Charging points for electrical vehicles

Different kinds of tests for cycling lanes

Urban Lab fosters
innovation in the 22@
Barcelona district

Pilot study to use two Metropolitan Police motorcycles
of electric and solar propulsion (Motosolar vehicle)

66 This model has already seen a number of projects put into practice, such 67

as the implementation of 12 points of Eco Digital exterior public lighting
with LED technology. There are also two recharging points for electric cars
with management and analysis of the system from one central control point.
Additionally, pilot studies have been carried out on regulating traffic
Adapted traffic lights for the visually impaired

lights automatically depending on traffic, crossing lights adapted for
sight-impaired persons, different types of bicycle lanes, fibre optics to
homes (FTTH) and remote gas, electricity and water meter reading for
more than 150 homes.
The Urban Lab fosters improvements and urban responses and provides local
companies with the opportunity to test their most innovative projects in a
real setting, before being applied in the city as a whole or in other markets.

Traffic control cameras connected with optical
fiber to the Public road headquarters made to
control traffic in real time. It will be possible to
increase or reduce the green frequency depending
on the actual necessities

22@ urban lab

In order to encourage use of city buses, it is important that the service should
operate punctually and it is useful to know how long you have to wait for the
next bus. The Parada Solar d’Informació (Bus Stop with Solar-Powered Infor-
mation Panel) developed by Capmar and designed by the Instituto Europeo di
Design of Barcelona, is a new model of bus stop that can provide information
on buses in circulation in real time. And it is totally sustainable to boot. It only
works with solar energy, saving the costly installation of cabling and reducing
energy use to zero.
While not as showy as conventional bus stops, nor as austere as the more
simple information panels, the Bus Stop with Solar-Powered Information Panel
(PSI by its Catalan initials) makes excellent use of space, resources and energy.
The PSI is made from two tubular iron columns. The upper section holds the
photovoltaic collector, inclined so as to take better advantage of solar radiation.

Bus Stop with
Solar-Powered
Information Panel by
68
capmar & 69

IED Barcelona
www.capmar.es

A sustainable bus stop
incorporating
innovative design and
technology

Erik Simons
Nicolás Capablo Jaciel Reyes
capmar manager
Gerard Lorente
Rubén Oya

SPIP Designers

The information screen is located at the front at the same height as the human
eye. Each panel consists of two screens, one with bus timetable information
and the other with information of interest to citizens. The panels operate with
mobile technology (GPRS) and software developed by Capmar. Buses send
a satellite positioning system (GPS) signal to the servers at their respective
companies; Capmar compiles the information regarding time and position
and sends it by Internet, updating it every 30 seconds. Finally, the information
An efficient and reaches bus stops and users.
sustainable bus
Given its effectiveness and efficiency, the PSI has aroused the interest of dif-
stop that other
Spanish and
ferent cities in the rest of Spain and in Europe. In 2010, the Solar Information
international System will be installed in cities such as Girona, with a custom bus stop design,
cities also want to and also in Palma, Majorca. The firm is currently developing prototypes for
install the Valencian transport authority Agència Valenciana de Mobilitat, and is in
negotiations with cities such as Pune, India, and Santiago, Chile.
In addition to the PSI project, Capmar has also designed the first Informative
Solar Bus Shelter, now erected in the Barcelona suburb of Molins de Rei.
Capmar is a solid family-owned company specialising in the construction of
light structural frames and façades. It also has an urban furniture department. It
was this department that, together with Jesús Fernández-Cavada, public works
engineering officer of EMT, the Barcelona metropolitan transport authority, and
head of bus stop information and signposting for EMT, detected the need for
improving user information at bus stops. The result of this was this bus stop
with its solar-powered information panel.

70 Once the technical side of the project was resolved, and with a mind to incor- 71

porating design into the project, Capmar contacted Jorge Pérez, head of the
Research and Educations Department at the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED).
The design for the final model of the PSI was made with assistance from four
A sustainable product design and transport design students (Jaciel Reyes, Gerard Lorente,
system that consumes Rubén Oya and Erik Simons).
72 watts in 24 hours It is worthy of mention that this experience was important in fostering collabora-
and the battery has tion between small businesses and research and education teams, given that
10 days of autonomy both sides benefit from them. The IED students were able to see what it was
like to work with a business client and followed the project through from start
to finish. For its part, Capmar benefited from a professional and dynamic team
that designed the product. On the whole, this is an interesting and strategic
solution for the future business market.
Finally, the last effort to make the PSI a reality was the supervision given by
EMT over their commission for production. The transport authority provided
advice and monitoring for all of the technical details. Thanks to the combined
efforts of all of these participants, the PSI has been turned into a real product
and is present on the streets of Barcelona where 100 of these bus stops are
in operation.
capmar

The future of
eco-friendly transport
is here

Bicycle use in urban areas is becoming increasingly popular and is being
E-Bikes are a product
promoted by most European majors. Other factors, such as the difficulty in
not of the future but
parking, the rising price of fuel, heavy traffic and both environmental and of an eco-friendly and
noise pollution are leading many car users to opt for two-wheel travel. How- sustainable present
ever, sometimes the conventional bicycle is not suitable for everyone, either
because they have to travel long distances or because the terrain they have
to travel over is hilly. Mopeds require permits to ride them and traffic can be
dangerous. Until now the best solution has been the folding bike, which can
be taken on public transport whenever necessary.

72
E-Bikes
by
bicicletes 73

monty
www.monty.es

Ot Pi
Director

But if having to take a rush hour train while carrying a bike is still not to every- father’s motorbikes, but soon showed his preference for bicycles. Bicicletes
body’s taste, having the possibility of combining the body’s strength with a Monty was founded in 1983 with the manufacture and design of the first trial
motor seems to be the best way of addressing the needs of each person at bikes, non-existent until then.
each moment. Until now, most motorised bicycles on the market have been This Catalan company has succeeded in adapting to new times and from the
too heavy to pedal or not powerful enough. The battery life was too short and very beginning has developed all types of bicycles including BMX, dirt, folding
they ended up being a nuisance to carry. After six years of efforts, Monty may and urban bikes. Their latest offer is this new electric model, which is ideal for
be the perfect means of urban transport for a sustainable future. The E-Bikes the hilly terrain of cities like Barcelona.
are lightweight bicycles with a motor that uses 46 times less fuel than mopeds
and are environmentally friendly.
Its main features are its adaptability to an urban environment, its attractive
design, the reliability of a company that has been designing motorcycles and
bicycles for a number of decades and its ease of use. It is comprised of four
electrical components: a latest-generation 250-watt brushless motor, a high-
capacity electric battery, an electronic control unit and a pedal assist system.
The EF38 folding model weighs less than 17 kilograms and fits in any lift. The traffic in
The inventors are the family-owned company Bicicletes Monty, currently Barcelona moves at
managed by Ot Pi, twelve-time world Biketrial champion. The history of this an average speed of
company in the manufacture of two wheeled vehicles goes back a long way. 20 km/h; E-Bikes
can reach
Ot Pi’s father was the technical designer for the motorcycle company Mon-
25 km/h
tesa, where the first trial motorbikes were made. Ot began to practise with his

74 75

Key points such as quality,
reliability, design and
after-sales service have
enabled E-Bikes to become
a reality in our society and
to arouse the interest of a
wide variety of users

bicicletes monty

The shape of Key bycicle rack reminds
us to the handle of a key, that's where The Key bicycle rack is a practical and easily recognised piece of urban furni-
the name comes from
ture. Designed by Lagranja and produced by Santa & Cole, its purpose is to
allow bicycles to be parked more securely, comfortable and easily.
Key consists of a highly resistant and durable steel core covered in polyurethane
foam to protect the bike from knocks it can receive while chained. The size of
the upper part allows both wheels to be chained at the same time, preventing
thefts as much as possible.

76
Key by
LAGRANJA + SANTA&COLE 77

www.lagranjadesign.com www.santacole.com

An innovative
solution
for parking
bicycles
These three concepts – resistance, softness and security – are the spirit of
the design and are the key factors in the success of the Key bicycle rack.
Its name comes from its resemblance to a key.
Lagranja
In designing its product, Lagranja was aware of the key strategy of eco-design
Javier Nieto Santa
designers
Santa&Cole's general – reducing the components and materials used. The value of this product lies
manager
in the simplicity of its shape.

The materials used are a balance
between softness and good
resistance to changing weather
conditions
Key is made up of three different parts: the unseen part
is the core, made from steel profiles to ensure durability. Design and efficient production
The base is in cast aluminium, which is resistant to contact make Key very resistant and,
with the pavement and weather conditions, and, what is therefore, a long-life,
more, is recyclable. The third part is 100% high-density sustainable product
polyurethane foam that covers the core. This visible part
comes in two colours: red and charcoal grey.

78 Key has a long life cycle. It is easily installed and is 79

maintenance-free. This results in significant savings for
local authorities.
Its practical design allows the positioning of its elements
to be varied: they can be scattered, in a row, in a line,
forming geometric shapes, etc. There is a wide range of
possibilities for those responsible for the urban landscape.
National and international recognition has been given
to the work done by Lagranja and Santa & Cole: Key
received the international 2007 IDEA Award and the
2008 Red Dot Award in the category “Best of the Best”.
It was also awarded the 2008 Ciutat de Barcelona Prize.
Key can currently be found in the streets of Barcelona,
Pamplona and Ibiza. In Barcelona they are planned to be
installed in the whole city.

lagranja + santa&cole

With the waste material
recovered from two yellow
recycling bins (plastics
and packaging), 100
panels of material to be
used as Equipment for
Health

Ga
m
eo
Equipment

ft
he
Go
os
e.
Eq
ui
pm
for Health

en
tf
or
Ga
m
eS
er
ie
s
by
80
Salvador Fàbregas, Exercising in the open air is more pleasant and economical that doing it in a 81

Alicia Arteaga + fitness centre. It is particularly so when we think of the elderly who spend most
Microarquitectura of the day at home, often alone. Parks and gardens are places where everyone
www.microarquitectura.com from children to pensioners can find leisure and socialise. Being able to play,
meet and enjoy the few natural spaces to be found in the city are privileges
Salvador Fàbregas that should be taken full advantage of.
Alicia Arteaga
Designer
Designer
Salvador Fàbregas and Alicia Arteaga, industrial designers with great experi-
ence in the field of urban furniture, began to think of how to improve the use
of city parks and gardens, often seen as places for sculptures than as spaces
for real use. This was the idea behind Equipment for Health, a collection of
facilities, manufactured by Microarquitectura, addressing the requirements for
unsupervised exercise of the elderly (but also suitable for all ages), a group
of people whose number is growing and who make increasing use of public
spaces for socialising and keeping fit.
Public space installations
to help senior citizens
stay fit

This equipment invites users to do the exer- Leg, foot, arm, hip, orientation, stability and
cises explained on signs without the need for coordination are only some of the parts of
instructors or the complex machines found in the body and senses that can be improved
gymnasiums. These are simple stretching and through exercise with this equipment.
coordination exercises that encourage good This project was advised and validated by the
health among the older generation. Professional Association of Physiotherapists of
One important feature of this furniture is its Catalonia and also by the Recycled Purchases
sustainability and adaptation to its setting. The network of the Department of the Environment
material used is 100% recycled and recyclable of the Government of Catalonia. Column model

plastic, which is turned into the flat panels used Also in the same line of work, this creative
in all of the components of the series. They partnership has also designed Play Equipment,
therefore require a minimum amount of mould- a collection bringing back traditional games
ing, which provides important energy savings. such as noughts and crosses, hopscotch and
By using the panels as the base for the equip- even the Game of the Goose to the streets.
ment, different sized areas can be created, and Microarquitectura, on the other hand, is a street
they can be expanded or reduced depend- furniture firm that designs, projects, creates,
ing on the available space. The equipment installs and distributes modular constructions
is coated in eco-friendly paint, which is also and pergolas. The Elements of the Health are
highly resistant to wear, climate conditions and, part of one of its singular furniture series which
Zig Zag model
particularly, vandalism. This equipment can be they fabricate and distribute.
adapted to a large number of settings, and can
be installed in places exclusively dedicated to
exercise and in parks in general, encouraging
82
leisure and socialibility. 83

This innovative
equipment
is designed for
the elderly
to stay fit

Rio model Dice model

Salvador Fàbregas, Alicia Arteaga + Microarquitectura

The Gran Teatre del Liceu been staged in this very with the 2002/2003 as a
was opened in 1847 with different setting. The first technological challenge
private capital out of the was Bellini’s opera Norma, that has now been fully
need to establish a conser- followed by a concert by consolidated.
vatoire of music at a time Josep Carreras. For the Finally, special mention
when the city’s economic 10th anniversary of the should be made of the
and demographic expan- reinauguration of the Liceu’s collaboration with
sion was booming. It was Liceu, Puccini’s Turandot the 2009 DiBa Film Festi-
also to be a place for the was chosen, and was val in a pioneering event
new social class emerging staged in the gardens of that was a world first:
at the time, the bourgeoi- the Palau Robert. the live broadcast in 3D
sie, to gather. Times have The theatre has also dared technology of a part of a
changed and now it is an to bring opera closer to rehearsal for the opera
internationally-renowned young people. The “Opera Fidelio by Beethoven in the
theatre staging opera, Oberta” (Open Opera) ini- auditorium of the Pompeu
dance, concerts and recit- tiative is an introduction Fabra University. This
als within everybody’s to opera and forms part of international technologi-
reach. the curriculum of differ- cal challenge is a taste of
It suffered a devastat- ent universities around what will soon be a reality
ing fire in 1994, which the world. The programme in cinema and television.
provided an opportunity consists of the live broad-

84
Opera in the street
by
gran teatre del liceu 85

www.liceubarcelona.cat

for a physical and struc- casting and via Internet
tural refurbishment, and 2.0 of five performances
the introduction of new from the Liceu season, The Liceu
management as it became with excellent lighting collaborates in the
a publicly-owned theatre. and sound conditions. The dissemination of the
Five years later, in 1999, course has academic merit latest advances in
and the operas are broad-
Experiences to bring it opened its doors anew
with a calling to be “every- cast with subtitles in the audiovisual
opera to new venues body’s Liceu”. A series
of activities was put into
language corresponding to
each case (Catalan, Span-
technology

and audiences place to bring it closer to a ish, Gallego, Portuguese
public more accustomed to and French). At present,
other sorts of spectacles, forty-two universities in
such as cinema and music. Spain, France, Andorra,
One of the most popular Portugal, Mexico and
activities is the “Liceu Colombia are taking part
on the beach” season. To in this initiative.
date, three shows have “Ópera Oberta” started

the brand's innovative
vision of identifying
itself with the city
of barcelona and the
sponsorship of its
cultural life

The history of Cerveses Moritz has always been closely linked to that of
the city of Barcelona. This company with a long family tradition has been
able to adapt with the times and the taste of consumers of the day, and
has chosen to form a close association with the cultural and gastronomic
life of the city.
The origins of Moritz beer goes back to the middle of the 19th century.
Its founder, Louis Moritz, arrived in Barcelona in 1851 from the town of
Pfaffenhoffen in the beer-producing region of Alsace.
After a few years brewing beer in the Raval district, he opened what
would become the largest brewery in the city for many years in Ronda
Sant Antoni in 1864.

moritz
86 87

www.moritz.cat

Moritz markets 4 types of beer: Moritz –its classic brew, Aigua de
Moritz – 0,0 beer, Moritz Alfa – created for fine gastronomy, and
Moritz Epidor – its top strength beer.
Albert Castellón
general manager

The quality and reputation of Moritz beer was consolidated over the years,
but the oil crisis of the 1970s affected a number of sectors in the economy
and forced Moritz to fold.
In 2004, the descendents of Louis Moritz, specifically the fifth and sixth
generations of the family, decided to relaunch Moritz beer. The quality of
their product, together with strategic sponsorship campaigns for projects
linked with gastronomy, architecture, design, fashion and general culture,
has drawn loyalty from a segment of consumers moving in these circles.
One of the first steps taken in relaunching the brand was the com- Jean Nouvel,
missioning the designer America Sánchez to adapt its graphics to America Sanchez
the times and to redesign the legendary logo of Moritz beer. and Bigas Luna
Loyal to their strategy of association with the city, Moritz has col- are some of the
laborated with, promoted and sponsored a large number of activities: prestigious figures
“Sky Picnics” and “Alpine Fondue” on Montjuïc, Moritz appetisers collaborating
during the city festival, cooking courses in the Boqueria market, among with Moritz
many more. ModaFAD
Other actions include collaborations with ModaFad and the redevelopment
of the Moritz brewery on Ronda Sant Antoni, a project by the renowned
architect Jean Nouvel. The architectural project combines modernity and
style with the moderation involved with working on walls over 140 years old. Fàbrica Moritz. Space Ceremony of the Terenci Moix Awards

88 89

moritz

90 91

The Moritz spirit
The building is to become an enormous leisure, food and cultural platform, represents a perfect
which the Moritz family would like to restore and reinvent for the city of balance between
Barcelona. This multi-purpose space has been given the name of Fàbrica tradition and modernity
Moritz. What is more, Fàbrica Moritz will also house the FoodCultura
Museum, an initiative of the artist Antoni Miralda.
With regard to its product, Moritz is taking a step further in consolidating
its innovative project with the presentation of its range of fine gastronomy
products designed and developed with assistance from the country’s
leading chefs and gastronomers.

moritz

Video art
Festival and Fair by
92

loop
www.loop-barcelona.com
Video allows audiovisual art to find a format of exceptional wealth for experi-
mentation and the creation of new artistic expressions. It became linked to
the art scene during the 1960s, with the arrival on the market of Sony por-
93

LOOP Fair 2009. La Fábrica Gallery
table video cameras, making it possible to experiment with conceptual art
A must for lovers and television. Since that time, video has gone from strength to strength as
of the artistic a medium for exploring contemporary art. Growing increasingly distant from
the trends that it shared with advertising and music videos, video is a sup-
image port that allows aesthetic and theoretical concepts to be explored with great
in motion simplicity and beauty.
LOOP Fair started in 2006 as a pioneering event specialising exclusively in
Llucià Homs
la fábrica barcelona director video art for the purpose of meeting the demands of a then emerging move-
Carlos Durán
chairman of art barcelona ment for the marketing of this support. Some years later, the fair is becoming
consolidated as an event and meeting point for professionals in the sector
from all over the world.

Emilio Álvarez
galeria àngels barcelona
director

LOOP currently consists of three
complementary parts: the festival,
the fair and the panel discussions.
LOOP Festival is a cultural and fes-
tive event for the city of Barcelona.
It involves the principal art institu-
tions of the city, from galleries and
civic centres to bars, shops and
restaurants.
During the festival, an attempt is

LOOP Fair 2009. Christopher Grimes Gallery
made to show the general public
a selection of works through pro-
jections, exhibitions and seminars.
In this way, LOOP is becoming a
platform for platforms that involves
artists, curators, collectors, gal-
leries, universities, art schools,
distributors, festivals and a large
number of different figures and
entities simultaneously.
LOOP Fair is the commercial side
of the event. Under the aim of cre-
ating a private and suitable atmo-
94
sphere for showing the videos, 95

the fair has always been held in
a hotel, where every room rep-
resents one of the 40 galleries
LOOP puts the Barcelona
participating in the fair, in order to
metropolitan area on the map of
encourage close contact between world audiovisual creation
the gallery owners and visitors.
Each gallery presents one video,
projected over the bed, the bath
or inside wardrobes. In this way, it
also promotes a different setting to
the white cube where one is used
to see these creations.

loop

Every year the fair features near than 1000 videos by people ranging from
young local artists to major figures in moving images such as Harun Farocki,
Michael Snow and Johan Grimonprez. Lastly, the Panel Discussions serve to
allow in-depth reflection on the current theories and trends in video art. The
future of this medium, its relation with other disciplines and its distribution are
important topics for professionals, but they also serve to familiarise the public
with this art form. Not only is LOOP active for a few weeks each spring, it
continues its task of disseminating video art all year round through collabora-
tions at international festivals and specialist conferences, creating links that
go beyond the actual event.

Johan Grimonprez , Double Take,
Julika Rudelius, Dressage, 2009

Clemens von Wedemeyer,
CaixaForum - Mediateca
Galerie Reinhard Hauff

Loop Festival 2009
LOOP Festival 2010

Capella MACBA
LOOP Fair 2010

Otjesd, 2005

2009
96 The three directors behind this event are figures associated with promoting 97

contemporary art in Barcelona: Emilio Álvarez, manager of Àngels Barcelona
Gallery and Roomservice design gallery; Carlos Durán, director of Galeria
Senda and of Espai 2NOU2, he has also been chairman since 2005 of Art
Barcelona, the Association of Contemporary Art Galleries of Barcelona; and
Llucià Homs, gallery owner and director of different cultural entities, currently
the head of La Fábrica Barcelona.
Laia Manonelles/César Merino:
Marcus Kreiss, Cortina , 2000

The festival sets the standard for
video art and receives invitations
Dones artistes a la Xina
Le Meridien Barcelona

to present it in Oslo, Utrecht and
LOOP Festival 2010

LOOP Festival 2010

other cities around the world
Casa Asia

loop

Illusion, candour and passion are the basic ingredients for the recipe that has
allowed a small Barcelona-based company to be called to the stage of the Kodak
Theatre to collect an Oscar for best special effects in the film Pan’s Labyrinth.
Since 1991 DDT has been devoted to creating special makeup effects: their
hands can make you look 50 years older; you can simulate a pregnancy; and
you can be turned into a hair-raising monster or a spectacular siren... DDT is
currently formed by David Martí and Montse Ribé, but it was begun by David
Martí, David Alcalde and Tato Pons. The latter two left the company and
Montse joined in 1993.
Their intention from the very beginning was to become specialised in effects for
the big screen, but Spanish film industry twenty years ago consisted of comedies
and family dramas requiring few makeup effects, while the powerful US and
British special effects studios would not make it easy for a small and relatively
inexperienced foreign company to enter the business. As a result, the company
took on advertising work for a time, while waiting for an opportunity to arise.

Pan’s Labyrinth by
98
DDT 99

efectEs especials
www.ddtsfx.com

DDT experiments
Oscar-winning with non-CGI
special effects special effects
David Martí and takes them
director of Special effects makeup and
animatronics department to new heights

Montse Ribé
co-owner of the company

Working for clients such as Trex chewing gum and Liberto Jeans enabled them of the faun came to light after a great many conversations and exchanges of
to experiment with different materials and techniques, and also to make a name sketches between Guillermo del Toro and David and Montse. Theirs was an
for themselves in the world of audiovisuals. After a number of years, the first intense collaboration that resulted in special effects that captivated the American
major feature-length film arrived at the hand of film director Jaume Balagueró, market, almost certainly owing to their distinct style.
a novice like them, with whom they were very much in tune. A new generation DDT works with three main types of effects. the first is special makeup, also
of film directors was emerging and they brought new professional needs with known as characterisation or prosthetic makeup, with which both real effects
them: DDT began to receive commissions from upcoming figures like Daniel (a pregnant woman’s belly in The Sea Inside, cuts to the body, knives stick-
Monzón and Álex de la Iglesia, and more established directors such as Pedro ing out) and imaginary effects (the ghost child in The Devil’s Backbone) are
Almodóvar and Miguel Bardem. achieved. Another type is animatronics, replicas of animals or humans brought
International exposure awaited them, especially at the hand of Guillermo del to life with internal mechanisms. Finally, they work with effects of fiction, such
Toro, who had already worked with them on The Devil’s Backbone before making as an exact replica of the human body that is often used to simulate the dead
Pan’s Labyrinth. DDT began to make a name for themselves with international body of an actor. But it should be pointed out that all of their work is crafted
film directors and producers. Although the Americans continued to pull the most and real, without the computer-generated effects that are so much a part of
weight in the world of special effects, there were productions being filmed in present-day cinema. The most commonly used materials are silicone, latex
Europe, and Barcelona was closer. This was the case of Hellboy, for example, foam, fibreglass and plaster.
a film in which DDT created the makeup for the main character. So, what is there to be done when you already have an Oscar and the acknowl-
The case of Pan’s Labyrinth, the work that won them a well-deserved Academy edgement of your peers? What is left is to continue working hard, both with
Award, was unusual as far as the responsibilities of the company was concerned, film and advertising, to experiment, innovate and never stop seeking out new
given that DDT was able to work on the character from scratch. The appearance challenges.

100 101

The most amazing fantasy
characters in contemporary
cinema are made in Barcelona

ddt efectos especiales

How many times have you tonality and production that takes into account measures your heartbeat. tal distribution platforms (a monitoring service of
asked friends to recom- quality), with published the state of mind of the BodiBeat uses software and copyright control musical content developed
mend music, read maga- information (title, artist person listening to it at created by BMAT to organisations. They have from its own tecnology of
zines or spoken to bad- and year). Added to this that moment. synchronise music with collaborations with Intel, audio recognition, one of
tempered shop sales staff is the information from One of the most recent your pace when you run: Yamaha, Telefónica, AGB the most advanced solu-
about a group you really blogs, playlists and other ELLA applications is the device has an accel- Nielsen and Gestmusic, tions of audio recognition
like? The engineering recommendations made BodiBeat, a portable erometer that detects the IMusic among others. in the world).
team at BMAT is attempt- by virtual users. ELLA mp3 player produced jogging rhythm, mak- Besides ELLA, BMAT has
ing to save you time and also has a collection of by Yamaha with an ing it coincide with the also developed other prod-
effort with new software more than 9 million songs. integrated system that music you are listening to. ucts like Skore (virtual
called ELLA. Few songs will be left out Likewise, whenever you casting that scores your BODiBEAT automatically
ELLA can analyse and if you search for music do a strong cardiovascu- performance, which was synchronises the beat of
interpret music in the way “that sounds like Caetano lar workout, ELLA plays used in the casting pro-
a human being does. The Veloso” or “easy-listening
the music to the body’s
songs with a strong beat cess for the Spanish tele-
secret lies in combining music for a long road and more speed. If you are vision reality-show talent movement
the musical character- trip”. A series of algo- doing a gentle exercise, programme Operación
istics extracted when rithms developed over a the music will be more Triunfo – (Fame Academy
processing the music period of twenty years relaxed and slow. Your in the UK) and Vericast
signal (state of mind, has brought about this heartbeat is measured to
rhythm, instrumentation, new intelligent software detect a possible slowing
rhythm and prevent exces-
sive acceleration. The

Ella
music motivates you to
move, and a change in the
music encourages you to
continue the exercise or to
slow down if necessary.
The BMAT Company was
established in 2006 as a
spin-off from the Musi-
by
BMAT
cal technology Research
102 103
Group of the Pompeu
Fabra University. Entre-
www.bmat.com
preneurs Àlex Loscos,
Pedro Cano and Salvador
Music search and Gurrerra started with a
small office and a set
recommendation of large loudspeakers.
software that Today they employ 20
young researchers from
replicates all over the world. In 2009
the selection they won first prize in the
Global Entrepreneurship
process of the Competition at the HiT
human mind summit in Barcelona.
BMAT’s main clients are
record labels, publishing
Pedro Cano houses, music stores, digi-
TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR Àlex Loscos
executive DIRECTOR

Salvador Gurrera
finance director

Striker Manager
by
104
u-play studios
www.uplaystudios.com
The dream of any football fanatic: with Striker Manager you only need and
Internet connection to become the chairman of a football team from your
105

computer. You can sign up players, sell them and keep a reserve of young
players, all without having real problems or millions at stake. It’s another way
to share and enjoy football.
The creators of this virtual game are U-Play Studios, a small company founded
in 2007 by a group of young entrepreneurs who decided to work together to try
and find a niche in the competitive and technologically-developed video games
market. Each of them has skills covering programming, design and communica-
tion. They also work together with Llacuna Innova, a company specialising in
the development of software and online technology, telecommunications and
R&D. Like U-Play, Llacuna Innova is a young and entrepreneurial company that
An online football game started its activities in the Barcelona Activa business incubator.
with over 200,000
registered users

A game created in
An online video game combining Barcelona that reaches
the latest technology with the computers all over
logic of big football clubs the world

106
The game is simple for beginners and becomes more complex as players With Striker Manager, anyone can put into practice the ideas and advice they 107

acquire skills and increase their possibilities. They can even control all aspects would give to the managers of their favourite teams; who knows, one day
of club management, from finance (procurement of sponsors, television deals coaches or managers may use it in their work. At present, with more and more
for game broadcasts, controlling revenues and expenses, etc.), in addition to followers, Striker Manager by U-Play has a promising future.
line ups, transfers, even the redevelopment of the stadium and the creation And if success in the number of followers is not guarantee enough of its value,
of football academies in various parts of the world in order to create a good the prizes it has received are. Striker Manager was chosen as Best Spanish
reserve of young players that will provide good players. Web Game in the Desarrollador_ES 2009 awards held during the Valencia
You can play for free, but you also have the option of investing money (virtual Campus Party.
money, that is, called “golden balls”). But beware! The other players will not U-Play has also developed other sports management simulation games, such
make things easy for you. Your team will have to compete in a league compris- as Pro Basketball Manager, which lets you become the chairman of a basket-
ing teams of equal standing, playing everything from friendly matches to the ball club on your computer, and International Basketball Manager, which is the
world championships. sibling of Striker Manager, but in basketball. It is a licensee of Euroleague, the
Games take place in almost “real” time. Games are played at the indicated best European leagues and the Spanish ACB.
times and last ninety minutes. For each week in real time there are three days
of league matches.

u-play studios

Cases i Associats is a Barcelona
design studio with offices in Bue-
nos Aires and Miami specialis-
ing in press information. With
clients in 30 countries, the studio
develops projects on electronic
and paper supports, such as the
creation and redesign of news-
paper and magazines, column
layout, websites and applications
for mobile phones and tablets.
The firm’s activity began over

Information
twenty years ago with the concept
and design of paper publications
and has currently been setting
world standards in the design of

design
digital information products.
Cases i Associats has led the
p r o c e s s e s fo r t h e c r e a t i o n
and renewal of more than 100
mastheads in Europe and Latin
America. Among its clients are
by
108
CASES i ASSOCIATS
www.cases-assoc.com
s uc h pres tigiou s pa pe r s a s
The Independent (United King-
dom), Corriere della Sera , La
Stampa and L’Unità (Italy), Gazeta
Wyborcza (Poland), Hospodárske
The design Noviny (Czech Republic), Gazet
of news Van Antwerpen (Belgium), Clarín
goes further (Argentina), O Estado de S. Paulo
(Brazil), El Comercio (Peru), El
than a choice Observador (Uruguay), Diario de
of font Notícias and Jornal de Notícias
(Portugal) and El Periódico de
Catalunya and Público (Spain).

Diseño de la notícia, Designing News
Publication of the projects by Cases i Associats
Editorial Sol90, Barcelona, 2010

Cases i Associats’ activity, which
inc ludes the design of new
printed media and the redesign of
already-existing media, allows the
studio to cover all aspects, from
the analysis and layout of con-
tents, page navigation, graphic
design and fonts. Increasingly,
all of this can entail restructur-
ing newsrooms, changes to the
organisational charts of sections
and systems and work flows, and
optimisation of pre-printing and
printing processes, etc.
A studio founded in Barcelona Cases i Associats began adapt-
has become a world leader ing information to digital media 10
in periodical design years ago. The firm has become
a specialist in setting up and
renewing websites linked to
newspapers and communications
groups, where global thinking is
applied to editorial products but
with the specific language and
110 They are also responsible for focus required by multimedia
the design of sports newspa- information. Some examples are
pers (Lance!, in Brazil and Olé in the work carried out for Corri-
Argentina), and the redesign of La ere della Sera in its web version:
Gazzetta dello Sport (Italy); finan- corriere.it and the Ansa agency
cial newspapers (Il Sole 24Ore in (ansa.it) in Italy, clarin.com.ar and
Italy and Vedomosti in Russia); ole.com.ar in Argentina, mirror.
free newspapers (DePers in the co.uk in the United Kingdom, dif-
Netherland, La Razón in Argen- ferent websites for the Adevarul
tina, Adevarul Seara in Romania, Group in Romania, prensalibre.
and ADN in Spain), and tabloid com in Guatemala, and O Estado
publications (Daily Mirror in the de S. Paulo (estadao.com.br) and
United Kingdom, Super in Brasil Lance! in Brazil, among others.
and Trome in Peru).

cases i associats

Celler
Ferrer Bobet
by
112
ESPINET / UBACH 113

ARQUITECTES
www.espinet-ubach.com
www.ferrerbobet.com

The history of winemaking in the Priorat district, in the heart of the province
of Tarragona, dates back to the 12th century. The abrupt topography of this
Modern land, described as “cataclysmic” by Catalan writer Josep Pla, develops as a
series of vine-covered terraces dotted with the odd stone structure, alternat-
architecture ing with pine and holm oak woods, defining the landscape where the Ferrer
anchored Bobet estate is found.
amidst the Miquel Espinet
Commissioned to design a new winery in this region, architects Miquel Espinet
vineyards of and Antoni Ubach decided to work in harmony with the land that surrounded them.
Priorat Given the choice of several possible locations, a number of parameters would
Antoni Ubach be decisive in the final decision: the slope, proximity to the vineyards, impact on
the landscape and ease of access. A choice was made of a terrace surrounded
by vineyards and with a 360-degree panoramic view over the entire estate.

The building is equipped with
state-of-the-art winemaking
technology

Added to the initial design, similar to that of other wineries with similar produc-
tion, were other innovative features related to winemaking, which introduced
interesting challenges to the project: the winemaking process would have to
114 be entirely gravitational, with no assistance from mechanical means or pump- spectacular landscape. The materials used in the building – oak wood, concrete 115

ing systems. and stainless steel, are connected to the winemaking process.
Once the brief and conditions for the project were studied, the architects The Espinet-Ubach design aims to highlight the volume of the new building to
designed a building anchored to the ground, with a sunken volume devoted make it stand out from the landscape. The arrow-shaped building follows the
to the actual winery and systems installations. The upper volume, containing contours of the site, rounded off by a cantilever over the ravines. Curved sun
the entrance, bottling and dispatch and visitor areas, offers enjoyment of the protection glass expanses enclose the multi-purpose visitor’s room.
Miquel Espinet and Antoni Ubach form one of the most solid partnerships
in Catalan architecture of the last 30 years. The Espinet-Ubach practice was
founded in 1976 and has since been behind a versatile and emblematic
series of residential, administrative, university and service projects, such as
the library and periodicals library of the Universitat Autònoma of Barcelona,
the refurbishment of the Montserrat choir school and that of the Eina School
of design. Their architecture is modern but does not concede to fads. It is
sensitive to function and looks to new building technologies.

espinet/ubach arquitectes

The key to the project was the way in which it
responds with architecture to the functional
challenge posed by the winemaking
industry, in a unique landscape

116 117

espinet/ubach arquitectes

The graphic representation of music has always been extremely complex:
notes, clefs, additional lines, figures, beats etc. It is such a complex system
that no one has dared to modify it since it was invented in the 18 th century.
The five lines forming the stave or pentagram holds not only the representa-
tion of the succession of sounds (and silences) making up a melody, but also
other aspects related to its duration and character. If we stop to think about
the amount of typographical changes made with verbal language, now is the

DenotaSystem
time to put the system of musical notation on the same level.
Rodrigo Pintos, a student of design at the Eina design school, has dared to
present a new proposal for the language of music with a degree project. He
does so without any knowledge of music theory.

by
118
rodrigo pintos Pinto’s system has no references to writing systems from other periods of
time; it attempts to geometrise and rationalise the system in order to achieve
119

a graphic system that is simpler and more harmonious. The oval note heads
become circles, the flags on quavers become right angles, the clefs are writ-
Applying ten as the letters they represent and the thickness of the stave is reduced. In
design to addition to the shapes, the vertical lines or stems are removed from connected
the language notes or the locations of alterations are changed. This allows the lengthwise
space of a musical score to be reduced and, consequently, the amount of
of music paper needed to reproduce it.
At first, when Pintos began to show such an innovative proposal to specialists
in the world of music, they looked at him with disbelief. However, the world of
design was pleasantly surprised and he received one of the six prestigious Grand
Laus design awards from the FAD (Foment de les Arts Decoratives) in 2009.
At the moment, this system works perfectly with simple scores and is being
perfected for more complex ones. This school project is an idea that opens
up an interesting line of research with a great future ahead of it.
Rodrigo Pintos

The geometric rationalisation
of musical notes replaces the
existing system

120 121

rodrigo pintos

Alex Trochut is one of the most internationally-renowned designers and illus-
trators of current times. His creativity knows no bounds, and this is supported
by clients like British Airways, The Rolling Stones, Nike, Saatchi & Saatchi and
The Guardian, among many others.
His work with typography is so highly recognised that Zip Design, a London
studio, commissioned him with the design of the letters for the cover of the
Rolling Stones compilation album for Universal Records.
The young designer (Barcelona, 1981) has a very personal style. His works
feature excellent typographic design, careful illustrations and the impeccable
way he combines both fields.

Rolled Gold + by
122
ALEX TROCHUT
www.alextrochut.com
123

Alex Trochut’s creative philosophy is characterised by experimenting with the
A brilliant exercise boundaries of typography and exploring all of the possibilities each letter offers.
in typography This way of working also applies to the other work his company does: posters,
for the cover of advertisements, logos, and a long list of others. “More is more” is his motto,
a Rolling Stones conveyed in a wealth of detail and elegance but with restraint and control.
His vocation in typography comes from the family: his grandfather, Joan Trochut,
album created the modular SuperTipo Veloz system in 1942. Many years later, Alex,
together with Andreu Balius, created a digital version of this original typeface for
Alex Trochut Typerepublic, interpreting the originals by Joan Trochut as faithfully as possible.

124

alex trochut
personality
Tipography
with rock’n’roll

Neo Deco Typography, designed for
Hype for Type. The result is a font to be used
on very big size.
125

Nothing is what it seems precision work, like that
in the hands of Marc of a sculptor making
Monzó. Since starting out miniatures, is the base of
in the Massana design Marc Monzó’s jewellery.
school jewellery work- When we think about the
shop, he has been aware history of gold, we imag-
of the expressive pos- ine great jewels hanging
sibilities of the trade, not on the necks of Egyptian
to make products for the pharaons and the kings
Monzó’s jewels elite, but to experiment of pre-Colombian civili-
have been published with the precision of an sations. Monzó uses the
on worldwide age-old technique. same concepts but for a
totally different result.
magazines and have The Sun collection is a Unlike in traditional
been exhibited at series of gold earrings jewellery-making, where
the most prestigious that question status, value is given to ornamen-
museums values and the decorative tation and weight, he uses
essence of this material. fine sheets measuring 0.08
The way the pieces were millimetres in thickness.
made is of great signifi- The act of folding them
cance. Once the metal had mechanically like a piece
been rolled and polished, of paper produces a very
Monzó worked them using strong graphic quality,

Sun
things normally found on resembling sunrays, which
a writing desk as tools: in turn acquire degrees of A world of forms, materials,
he cut out the gold shapes visually interesting reflec-
with paper scissors and tions and tones. Despite colours and objectives going
used a compass and ruler their fineness, they are beyond what is seen as
to mark the surface. This not fragile pieces. Like the evident and familiar

by
126
marc monzó
www.marcmonzo.net
sun, they have impercep- featuring very simple steps of a generation of
127

tible strength. concepts from everyday jewellers like Karl Frisch
The crafting process, reality used in a surprising and Ruudt Peters, Monzó
using high-precision tools, way, have been around the defines jewellery-making
is as important as the final world. Monzó’s original- as art, assuming a new
product. There is an artis- ity is seen in the freedom position that questions
tic and conceptual part with which he uses mate- traditional orders and
in every one of the pieces rials to accentuate the definitions. His work is
made by this jeweller who, expressive possibilities connected to states of
like other contemporary of his craft. His research mind and impulses. At
artists, researches every- has led to intentionally times they have a dark
day materials and defends unfinished works, where and negative side, but,
them as objects worthy of the noble materials are as in the case of Sun,
Marc Monzó being considered “jew- covered in a layer of paint they are the total oppo-
els”. or other material, made site; they are a positive
Marc Monzó trained in to give even more force reaction, of light and
jewellery-making, finding and subtlety to his pieces. celebration. They overlook
particular appeal in the Flaws are even intensified the weight and serious
gold size and precision rather to give more significance nature of a material as
crafted than its prestige. His col-
lections and exhibitions,
to the creation process.
Following in the foot-
traditional as gold.

with desk tools

The total refurbishment of the Room for Human Rights and the Alliance of Civili-
sations at the UN Office in Geneva has a strong Catalan flavour: the Majorcan
artist Miquel Barceló was commissioned to paint the 1,400 m 2 dome with an
exceptional work recreating a sea of waves and stalactites, while the room has
been furnished with 758 chairs and technical desks incorporating the latest
communications technology. These furnishings were specially-developed by
Figueras International Seating, a Barcelona company with more than 75 years
of history specialising in designing and manufacturing seating systems for
public projects.

Bonamusa
Chair by
128
FIGUERAS 129

INTERNATIONAL
SEATING
www.figueras.com

Photo: © ONUART, Agustí i Antònia Torres
Antoni Bonamusa
designer

A Catalan
chair in the
Human Rights
Room at
the UN

The company’s team of designers and technicians, under the leadership of Figueras International Seating is committed to constant research in new products,
architects Daniel Starrenberger and Athanase Spitsas, and designer Antoni finishes, materials and, above all, innovative design. Their chairs can be found
Esteva, were in charge of the task of refurbishing the room. in such distinct places as the press rooms of the White House, the Ministry
The brief was to create a tailored design incorporating the state-of-the-art of Foreign Affairs in the Kremlin, the Islamic University and the Vatican, and
technology that could adapt to the different activities held in the room. It was those of the Moncloa Palace and the European Parliament.
therefore essential that part of the furniture should be easily moved. Out of Figueras International Seating has been given the Chamber Prize to Design
the 758 chairs some are fixed while the others are movable. Management in 2007 organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona
The model selected chosen for the room was the Bonamusa chair, with a and the Barcelona Design Centre (BCD).
leather finish in neutral tones to further enhance the magnificent dome and
its sea of colours.
This chair features a minimalist design and great comfort, so much so that it can
be used in conference rooms and in reduced spaces, such as offices or waiting
areas. Despite the chair’s versatility, a number of minor modifications had to be
made to the design to adapt the movable chairs to the Human Rights Room. Figueras International
Seating has furnished
One of the most functional aspects of Bonamusa chairs is that they are stack-
the press rooms of both
able, enabling them to take up little space when stored. The backrest and seat the White House and
are a single piece, finished in natural leather upholstery. the Ministry of Foreign
This chair was designed by Antonio Bonamusa, who had worked closely with the Affairs in the Kremlin
Figueras International Seating Company until his death in 2007, designing a wide
range of products and one of the figures behind the Figueras Design Centre.

130 131

figueras international seating

132 133

Minimalism, versatility
and comfort are features of a
chair destined to seat those
whose ideas will improve
the world

figueras international seating

Candy Restaurant (2007) is a restaurant in Tokyo that was thought up and
designed by well-known Catalan designer Martí Guixé. The special thing
about this restaurant is that its menu is exclusively made up of sweets. The
restaurant is laid out in two areas: one where the “candy chef” prepares and
arranges the dishes, and a dining room with round tables and chairs for eating
the sweets formally.
This is how the occasional act of eating sweets
becomes a formal act and is turned into the ritual of
a full meal: a new and original gastronomic experi-
ence. The restaurant offers 4 different set menus.
The sweets are served on a plate and arranged
in a certain way, with instructions explaining how
to eat them, all of them following the concept set
out by Guixé.
Martí Guixé has had a lasting interest in experi-
menting with food. After a time working in Germany as an industrial designer,

Cand y
he had the idea of mixing two concepts as different from each other as are
design and gastronomy. This led to the creation of Food Design, a discipline
that started with the SPAMT (1997) project and exhibition, from the abbrevia-
tion for “És Pa amb Tomàquet”, referring to the typical Catalan way of smearing

Restaurant
bread with ripe tomato. In fact Food Design produced edible design objects.

134 From then on, his creations have been as eclectic as they are original: stamps 135

with the flavour of the image represented on them; I-Cake (2001), a cake rep-
resenting the percentage of ingredients in it, where the decoration is turned
by into information; tapas-pasta, a way of cooking pasta in individual portions,
martí guixé
www.guixe.com
like tapas, and with the options of accompanying them with different sauces.
These are only three of the many other examples of Food
Design creations.
Martí Guixé makes edible products that are ergonomic,
Sweets as the functional, communicative, interactive and visionary, while
being radically contemporary. With Food Design, eating is
absolute stars an experience, not a form of nutrition.
of the kitchen
Martí Guixé

Food Design, a
total gastronomic
I-Cakes
experience

136 137

Martí Guixé redesigns
the rituals and conventions
of eating

martí guixé

Rücker Lypsa is a cen- for long haul air travel on of privacy for passen- light composite materi- The Rücker Lypsa design
tre for state-of-the-art planes with a single-aisle gers depending on their als with high mechanical team comprises designers
design, research and fuselage, but with the requirements. All of these resistance, new types of of different nationalities
development that invests same features and com- features are designed to environmentally-friendly and backgrounds. The
heavily in technological fort found on twin-aisle offer passengers privacy paints and lightweight experience gained in The collaboration
innovation. The company aircraft. and good rest. inflatable cushions, projects all over the world between Rücker Lypsa
is based in Barcelona Care Class blends engi- The collaboration between among others. allow them to find solu- and Mater provided
and is a part of the Ger- neering and design with the MATER—FAD's materi- One of Rücker Lypsa’s tions tailor-made to all the opportunity to
man group Rücker AG, a the concepts of comfort, als research centre— and main clients is Airbus, needs.
multinational providing privacy and a new way of Rücker Lypsa has meant with which it has shared a All of these factors have experiment with a wide
services and technology understanding first-class that the Care Class project 10-year collaboration on made Rücker Lypsa a range of innovative
in the field of transport travel. has been able to experi- different projects, par- leading firm in a sector as materials
and advanced product The Care Class line con- ment with and incorporate ticularly on the design of specialised as transport
engineering. Rücker Lypsa sists of a module with a wide range of innovative the A380. design.
develops projects that full-flat seat, a small materials: sensitive light In the automotive sec-
are strongly linked to the personal hygiene locker, panels with LED technol- tor, the company’s main
automotive and aeronauti- a multimedia system ogy, ecological leather clients are Seat, part of
cal sectors. with integrated screen upholstery, fabrics with the Volkswagen Group,
Care Class is a new and an innovative system fibre-optic lighting, photo- and Nissan. The high
concept in integrated seat that regulates the level luminescence in silicones, level of specialisation,
the value of innovation
and the quality of Rücker

CareClass
Lypsa designs have led
many large international
companies to rely on their
services.

by
138
RÜCKER LYPSA
www.rueckerlypsa.es
139

Design and
engineering for
Oscar Orce Marc Mateu comfort solutions
in aeronautics
industrial designer industrial designer

Giuseppe
Busalacchi
industrial designer

Bernat Costa
Design manager
Innovation applied to
the design of aircraft
Andreu Castells
industrial designer interiors to offer
new possibilities for
David Delgado
3d specialist passengers

From a store on Passeig
de Gràcia to over 1,500
outlets around
the world

MANGO, one of the most international Catalan companies, if not the most,
sees growth as one of the keys to their success and the culmination of
their project. The company is developing a strategic plan to allow them
to double in size over the next ten years.
MANGO has a close association with Barcelona: it is where MANGO opened
its first store in 1984. One year later, there were five new shops in the city.
From that point Mango began its expansion, first in Spain and then inter-
nationally. MANGO currently has more than 1,400 stores around the world,
distributed among 100 countries. Company-owned stores make up a part
of this number, while the rest are franchise operations. It is important to
note that 75% of their business is from sales in foreign markets. The com-
pany plans to expand greatly in the Asian market in the next five years.

mango
140 141

www.mango.com

Barcelona

There is no need to say that MANGO, a company devoted to design and
sale of clothes for women and now men, is a successful business model
in all aspects: international presence, quality of products, efficient and
motivated employees, with a coherent and unified image and a leading
logistics system. These are the keys to the success of the MANGO concept.
As part of their present strategy, one of MANGO’s ideas for continued
growth is design, with the opening of the Hangar Design Centre, Europe’s
largest design centre. The Hangar is the new centre where MANGO’s col-
lections, seen by everybody, are born and grow.
It is an innovative laboratory where one can see the process of reinter-
pretation of the latest trends with the MANGO seal, where the fabrics and
other materials, and the lines that mark the next season’s collections are
decided. With the building of this new design centre, MANGO is seeking
the perfect balance between design and function, and it was planned as
a studio where creativity would be encouraged and the multi-disciplinary
nature of the work teams would be enhanced.
The other of the company’s important strategies is the development of new
automated logistics centres incorporating the latest technology, which
have enabled it to increase its distribution capacity noticeably. The new
centre, with 24,000 m² of floor space in Parets del Vallés, has become the
most modern in Europe. It is a Dynamic Distribution Centre (DDC) with a
fully- automated system for loading, warehousing, invoicing and dispatch
of products. This system makes it the most efficient DDC in the sector.
142
This new logistics centre provides storage for 77% of the total number of 143
garments the brand sells on five continents and distributes an average of
30,000 pieces per hour.
MANGO also promotes young talent. In 2006 it set up the most important
international fashion award for up-and-coming designers, the Botón-
Mango Fashion Awards, with 300,000 euros in prize money. There have
already been 3 annual events and it has proved itself to be a launching
pad for many emerging designers who have to fight hard to find a space
for themselves in this highly competitive world.

MANGO also promotes young
talent. In 2006 it set up the Botón-
Mango Fashion Awards,
for up-and-coming
fashion designers

mango

An ambitious expansion plan
has positioned MANGO among
the most international
Spanish companies

145

MANGO PR is typified by innovative advertising campaigns that continue to
feature international models and actresses, or through clothes hung from the
cities billboards, displayed in glass cases as if they were museum pieces.
The star is then the actual garment interacting with the city.

mango

There is a snail-shaped building in Cerdanyola del Vallès that
contains a window to the future. The ALBA Synchrotron is
an electron accelerator, which takes these subatomic par-
ticles to speeds close to that of light and produces extremely
intense light beams. This latest-generation instrument works
like a giant microscope, allowing the secrets of atoms and
molecules to be discovered.
There are 40 of these particle accelerators in the world
with similar characteristics, but none of them is found in the
South-western Mediterranean. The ALBA Synchrotron is
the first. It is operated by the CELLS consortium and is being
co-financed by the Catalan and Spanish governments. The
synchrotron beam will be used for different types of experi-
ments that will be carried out in a series of independent sci-
entific research laboratories called “beamlines”. This will
be a magnet for talent, contributing to attract and retain
a large number of excellent researchers and professionals
in the sector for Catalonia and Barcelona. It will produce
a technology think tank that needs to know the secrets of
nature in order to advance its research.

ALBA
146 147

Synchrotron
Light Facility
Towards
the future
of technological
research

We have decided to close this second
volume of Thought up in Barcelona with
a milestone that points to the future
and consolidates Barcelona as one of
Europe’s leading research centres.
This book is intended to showcase
the high degree of innovation in our
companies, in many cases considered to
be models of international cutting-edge
and creativity.

Editions and Publications Board
of Barcelona City Council
Ignasi Cardelús
Enric Casas Published by
Eduard Vicente Barcelona City Council-Barcelona Activa
Jordi Martí With the collaboration of
Jordi Campillo FAD Fostering Arts and Design
Glòria Figuerola BCD Barcelona Design Centre
Víctor Gimeno Edited by
Màrius Rubert Barcelona Activa and Actar
Joan A. Dalmau
Carme Gibert Coordinated by

José Pérez Freijo Barcelona Activa
Maria Vilà
Rosa Suriñach
First Deputy Mayor for the Actar
Barcelona City Council and Anna Tetas Photographic credits
President of Barcelona Activa Rosa Lleó Toni Bofill 80-81
Jordi William Carnes Alex Carabí 54-63
Research and selection of cases
CEO of Economic Promotion Barcelona Activa Lluís Casals 108–113
for the Barcelona City Council FAD Fostering Arts and Design Carlos Collado 88–93
Mateu Hernández BCD Barcelona Design Centre Joan Cuitó 86–87
Managing Director of Barcelona Texts
Imagekontainer/Knölke 130–133
Activa
Anna Tetas and Rosa Lleó Xavi Mañosa 10–11
Anna Molero Oriol Miralles 84–85
Graphic design and production ONUART Agustí i Antonia Torres
Director of the programme
ActarBirkhäuserPro 125, 126, 128–129
“Barcelona, Recerca i Innovació”
of Barcelona City Council Translation Ben Stott 118
Xavier Testar cillero&demotta Román Yñán 46–51

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Anna Tetas and Rosa Lleó T +34 93 417 49 93
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