Since I’ve lived in Barcelona I’ve visited the most important museums in the city on several occasions, both the better-known ones like the MNAC, the MACBA and the Picasso Museum and large exhibition halls where visitors can admire unusual pieces related to the world of art and design, such as the Textile and Clothing Museum, previously located in the Palace of the Marquises of Llió, and the Museum of Decorative Arts, housed in the Royal Palace of Pedralbes.
In December 2014 a new museum opened its doors in an exceptional location, based on the coming together of the collections of the city’s Museum of Decorative Arts, Ceramics Museum, Textile and Clothing Museum and Graphic Arts Cabinet: the Museum of Design of Barcelona.
The new facility is located at the Design Hub Barcelona, a building it shares with the FAD (Fostering Arts and Design) and the BCD (Barcelona Design Centre).
The City Council hatched this idea at the beginning of the century with the aim of creating an integrated area enabling visitors to understand the world of design from a global perspective.
The building which houses the Design Museum of Barcelona is the work of the MBM Arquitectes architectural studio, made up of Josep Martorell, Oriol Bohigas, David Mackay, Oriol Capdevila and Francesc Gual. It is a contemporary building championing Catalan and Barcelona design, with singular pieces dating from the 4th century BC until the present day and collections catalogued from their conception, creation and production to their use in different ages and societies, including the artisanal and pre-industrial period and the industrial and digital eras.
The Design Museum of Barcelona maintains a triple heritage in which you can find historical collections of decorative arts (furniture, ceramics, glass, textiles, clocks, wallpaper, etc.), design collections (products, visuals and fashion) and signature arts from the 20th and 21st centuries (ceramic art, enamel art, jewellery art,etc.).
In addition to the permanent exhibitions, the Design Museum of Barcelona schedules temporary displays which are a must for lovers of art and design. Next November an exceptional one titled Distinction will open, reflecting a century of fashion photography with a total of 464 pictures by 35 authors, with illustrious names like Oriol Maspons, Leopoldo Pomés, Manuel Outumuro and Juanita Biarnés, among many others.
For those who enjoy a good design piece, decorative history and fashion, the Design Museum of Barcelona is a place not to be missed.
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