Inspired in Barcelona: Materia Prima

“Inspired in Barcelona: Materia Prima” is an installation presented during Milan Design Week 2026, from 20 to 26 April, that invites visitors on a sensory journey exploring the origins of creativity through two essential ingredients of Mediterranean culture: bread and olive oil. The exhibition uses these fundamental elements of gastronomy as metaphors for the creative process and for the search for balance that lies at the heart of design practice.

“Inspired in Barcelona: Materia Prima” is curated by the architecture studio Queralt Suau, with the participation of designer Andreu Carulla. It is organised by Barcelona Creativity & Design Foundation and promoted by Barcelona City Council’s Department of Culture and Creative Industries through Disseny Hub Barcelona (DHub), and by the Government of Catalonia through ACCIÓ - Catalonia Trade & Investment.

Interpreting the theme proposed by Fuorisalone for Milan Design Week 2026, Essere Progetto - an invitation to rediscover design as a dynamic and responsible process, in which human beings reclaim their central role as agents of change - the installation is inspired by the idea that the value of design lies not in the finished form, but in the process that gives rise to it.

Based on this premise, the exhibition leads visitors through a sequence of scenes that invite them to experience this metaphor firsthand. The journey begins with a transition from the bustling atmosphere of the fair into a calmer space, where visitors can contemplate the “auroras” created by the reflection of a constant flow of oil over a moving table that attempts to master it - a symbol of the energy of ideas Next, a large-scale collective photograph composed of portraits by Txema Salvans of figures from Catalonia’s design ecosystem evokes the search for creative balance that underpins every design process. The work brings together professionals from a wide range of disciplines, from chefs and pastry chefs to product, fashion and interior designers, as well as food designers.

The experience concludes with a participatory installation conceived by Andreu Carulla: a space where visitors can play with oil, create their own auroras and bring the journey to a sensory close by tasting a bread specially designed for dipping in olive oil.