Design museum

Table of contents

The Barcelona Design Museum (Museu del Disseny de Barcelona), inaugurated in December 2014 in its current headquarters, is an essential place dedicated to design, artistic craftsmanship, and the history of functional objects. Its main objective is to highlight the importance of design in the twenty-first century, by showing its impact on our daily lives, while highlighting its role in the transformation of modern societies.

The museum brings together more than 70,000 pieces from several cultural institutions in Barcelona, including the Museo de las Artes Decorativas, the Museo de la Cerámica, the Museu del Tèxtil i de la Indumentària, and the Gabinete de las Artes Gráficas. These richly diversified collections present a global vision of design through different mediums and artistic disciplines.

A design center in a historic city

Barcelona, long recognized for its close link with design and architectural innovation, was the ideal place to house a center dedicated to the achievements of contemporary design. The museum not only highlights historical pieces, but it is also positioned as a meeting place for designers, institutions, and industries that support the development of design on a local and international scale.

One of the major roles of the museum is to introduce the general public to the world of design. It offers an immersive journey to understand the creation process, from the initial idea to the realization of a functional or aesthetic object.

The building: Disseny Hub Barcelona

The museum is housed in the ultramodern Disseny Hub Barcelona building, located on Plaça de les Glòries in the Poblenou district, close to the famous Torre Glòries. Designed as an inclined rectangle, this building is built with modern materials that evoke a bold industrial architecture, while playing on geometric and asymmetrical shapes. The inhabitants of Barcelona nicknamed it “la grapadora” (the stapler) because of its distinctive shape.

Inside, the museum has 5,000 m2 of exhibition space, divided between permanent and temporary exhibitions. The documentation center houses more than 22,000 documents related to design, and the research spaces and gala halls also make it a place conducive to study and exchange. The Disseny Hub shares its premises with two other major institutions in the field of design in Catalonia: the Foment de les Arts i del Disseny (FAD) and the Barcelona Centro de Diseño (BCD).

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Permanent exhibitions

The museum presents four permanent exhibitions covering graphic arts, fashion, clothing design and objects made of various materials (ceramics, glass or canvas) that have entered everyday life.

First floor: From the world to the museum: Designing a product as a natural heritage, dedicated to everyday objects, allowing to discover their functions and their origins.

Second floor: artistic design from the 3rd to the 20th century. A rich collection of decorative arts and crafts (ceramics, glass, clocks, furniture, etc.).

Third floor: Dressed body; fashion from 1550 to 2014.

Fourth floor: Graphic design; from the conception to the realization of advertisements, book covers, etc. from 1940 to 1980.

In addition to the permanent exhibitions, the museum regularly organizes temporary exhibitions focused on various themes of contemporary design. It also hosts conferences, workshops, and events in collaboration with local and international creators, making the museum a space for reflection and experimentation.