Reliability, durability and resistance of the analogue: a protest in favour of good design and a rehearsal for the 2027 collective exhibition, within the framework of the Barcelona Design Week, PRO-TEST edition

Do you have a 20th-century object that still works? Can you prove it? The Cercle del Design — a physical, independent community based in Barcelona, dedicated to contemporary design — is launching an open call to create a collective exhibition that will take place in 2027 under the title: LO VIEJO FUNCIONA. Reliability, durability and resistance of the analogue.

Whether you are a company, architect, designer, interior designer, student, professional or design enthusiast, Cercle del Design invites you to join them on Saturday 17 October, at Fábrica Lehmann, for the presentation of the exhibition concept and a roundtable discussion featuring: Alberto Lievore, architect and industrial designer; Luca Hugo Brucculeri, ephemeral spaces designer and art director; and Eulàlia Llovet Vidal, Communications Specialist & Web Manager at Pilma — who will introduce the concept and lay the groundwork for the 2027 exhibition.
The talk will be moderated by Jazmín Castresana, journalist specialising in design and founder of Interior Contraportada.

The event is part of the OFF programme of the Barcelona Design Week, whose theme this year is PRO-TEST — a name that suits it perfectly. LO VIEJO FUNCIONA is, in its own way, a protest in favour of good design, and a rehearsal for the collective exhibition we will present in 2027.

LO VIEJO FUNCIONA is a proposal by the Cercle del Design that raises a central question for contemporary design: why, in many cases, does what already exists continue to work better than what is new? Inspired by a line from the series El Eternauta, the project does not put forward a nostalgic perspective, but rather a critical reflection on reliability, durability and resistance as values of design.

The question is not whether the old is better than the new, but what we can learn from objects that have withstood the test of time, and how that knowledge can inform contemporary design practice. In a context defined by planned obsolescence and digital volatility, the choice of what endures — the repairable, the proven, the time-resistant — becomes a decision that is both projective and cultural.

The growth of the second-hand market, the European regulation on the right to repair, and the return to materiality are redefining our relationship with objects. And this is where the design community has a key role to play: explaining and making visible the excellence behind a piece of design, and the qualities that have allowed it to endure over time.

Everyday objects from the 20th century that are still in working order will form the core of a collective exhibition and the starting point for a shared reflection on reliability, durability and resistance of the analogue.

The open call for the 2027 exhibition is structured around seven forms of permanence: memory, durability, reliability, repairability, materiality, use and ageless beauty — different ways of understanding the relationship between use, time and meaning. A reflection on the future of design that calls on us to consider it not only as a source of innovation, but as a tool for extending the life of objects over time.

So, if you have a 20th-century object that still works, bring it along!

The gathering will close with music and drinks courtesy of Barcelona Beer Company, craft beers brewed using traditional methods, with the finest ingredients and spring water from the Parc Natural del Montseny, and Casa Mariol, TERRA ALTA is not something you explain, it’s something you drink. From the land to the glass.

Actively participating in the realisation of LO VIEJO FUNCIONA:


LO VIEJO FUNCIONA – OFF BDW Barcelona Design Week 2026 event
Presentation + Roundtable discussion
Saturday 17 October, 12 h
Fábrica Lehmann
Carrer Consell de Cent, 159
08015 – Barcelona