Spanish political transition, the rise of the nationalist discourse in Catalonia, design and architecture provided Barcelona with the foundations of its new urban narrative. The concepts of local identity and modernity materialized in urban environments and everyday objects accessible to everyone.
Viviana Narotzky. PhD in History of Design from the Royal College of Art. Born in Barcelona, Viviana Narotzky studied industrial design and worked with the designer Jorge Pensi at the beginning of the 90s. She settled in London in 1994 where she collaborated for a time in Jasper Morrison’s office and where, after receiving a PhD in History of Design from the Royal
College of Art, she worked as Senior Research Fellow and taught on the Master’s degree in History of Design organized jointly by the Royal College of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. A member of the editorial board of the Journal of Design History, in 2009 she returned to Barcelona where she was recently elected President of the ADI-FAD (Industrial Design for Development of Decorative Arts Association).
Beth Galí. Architect. A member of the group of architects known as the “Generation of the 80s”, Beth Galí promoted the creation of new public spaces such as, for example, the restoration and pedestrianization of the historical centre of Barcelona and its opening-up to the sea. The new urban development and architectural paradigm which resulted from the Barcelona ’92 Olympics, to which she contributed actively together with other important architects, ended up being exported as the Barcelona model. Galí now carries out her activity as an architect and lecturer at the ETSAB and the Harvard School of Design.
Josep M. Serra. Architect and Executive Editor of Santa & Cole’s Urban Division. Graduated in Architecture by the ETSAB, Josep M. Serra is consultant on urban spaces and works in Santa & Cole since 2000 as Executive Editor of the Urban Division. He has worked in companies linked to the municipal administration of Barcelona like Impusa – Barcelona’92 and Barcelona Regional, in the field of urban development and city projects, experiencing from close up the creation and subsequent evolution in the urban elements’ world. Author of Elementos Urbanos. Mobiliario y Microarquitectura. (Urban elements. Furniture and microarchitecture) for Gustavo Gili publishing house (1996) and Manual d’Elements Urbans (Urban elements’ manual) for the Espai Públic Urbà (Public urban space) collection, he is currently preparing the second volume of the Elementos Urbanos. Mobiliario y Microarquitectura. (Urban elements. Furniture and microarchitecture) for Gustavo Gili publishing house as well. Since 2008, he is Vice-president of the ADI-FAD (Industrial Design for Development of Decorative Arts Association).