INSPIRED IN BARCELONA: MATERIA PRIMA

During Milan Design Week 2026, Jordi Queralt transformed the delicate and unpredictable balance of the creative process into a sensory journey through two essential and shared elements of Mediterranean culture: bread and olive oil

Over 34,000 visitors crossed the threshold of Inspired in Barcelona: Materia Prima during Milan Design Week 2026 — drawn into a sensory journey tracing creativity back to its roots in Mediterranean culture: bread and olive oil. The exhibition -inspired by the idea that it is not the finished form that defines the value of design, but the process that generates it- used the fundamental elements of gastronomy as metaphors for the creative process and the search for balance that characterises design practice.

Curated by the architecture studio Queralt Suau, with the participation of photographer Txema Salvans and designer Andreu Carulla, “Inspired in Barcelona: Materia prima” interpreted the theme proposed by Fuorisalone, Essere Progetto—an invitation to rediscover design as a dynamic and responsible process in which human beings regain their central role as agents of change.

Inspired by Alexander Calder’s “Fountain of Mercury” on display at the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona, Jordi Queralt created a constant flow of olive oil over a moving table that generated reflections and a flurry of ideas: “Historically, Barcelona and Catalonia have been spaces of creativity and innovation where gastronomic culture has played a prominent role. Mediterranean culinary tradition, based on respect for raw materials, has also been a driver of internationally recognised experimentation. With Raw Material, we wanted to transfer this logic to design: to understand that ideas, like ingredients, combine, transform and find their balance through play, research and the creative process.”

The installation was based on a central idea: ideas are the raw material of design, evolving and transforming through the creative process. Starting from this premise, the exhibition journey guided visitors through a sequence of three scenes that invite them to experience this metaphor:

1. Introduction: The journey began with a transition from the bustle of the fair into a calmer space, where visitors encounter an installation centred on earth, bread, and its processes, accompanied by a crisp cracking sound that reinforces its sensory dimension. Bread, as a self-contained element, defined landscape and context, while olive oil, flowing continuously over a moving table, generated reflections—“auroras”—that acted as a metaphor for the balance and energy of ideas.

2. Ideas in balance: Next, a large collective photograph composed of Txema Salvans’ portraits of various representatives of the Catalan design ecosystem evoked the search for creative balance that underlies any design process. Among them were professionals from a wide range of fields, from chefs and pastry chefs to product, fashion, and interior designers, as well as food designers.

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

Outside the venue stood a light installation bearing the word ‘Barcelona’, originally conceived by designer Antoni Arola as part of the city’s Christmas illuminations; in this exhibition, it took on a new function and meaning, brought to life at a different time of year.

In “Inspired in Barcelona: Materia prima”, materials were transformed into a narrative: a common thread linked tradition, innovation and design culture, reflecting the uniqueness of Barcelona’s creative ecosystem. A collective expression of this sector—diverse, cross-disciplinary, and constantly evolving—capable of integrating disciplines, experimenting with new languages, and projecting internationally a distinctive way of understanding design, rooted in process, material, and balance as driving forces for the future.

Organised by the Barcelona Creativity & Design Foundation, it was promoted by the Barcelona City Council’s Department of Culture and Creative Industries through the Disseny Hub Barcelona (DHub) and the Government of Catalonia through ACCIÓ – Catalonia Trade & Investment, with the collaboration of the brands Baluard, Brava Arts, L’Olivera, Roca and Simon.