design

Clothing company Desigual unveils its new world headquarters on Barcelona’s seafront

June 14, 2013 12:15 AM | CNA

The new facilities are the second longest building in the Catalan capital, as it is 186 metres long. Desigual’s new headquarters are located on prime real estate, just in front of Barceloneta beach and next to the W Hotel. They will initially host 840 employees but at a later stage they will host up to 1,500 people. The building is split into 6 storeys and occupies 24,400 square metres. According to Desigual’s President, Thomas Meyer, the building is inspired by the retail company’s values such as “positivity, respect, compromise and constant improvement”. The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, attended the unveiling event and praised Desigual for combining the “informality” of its clothing style with the “seriousness” of a company with shops in more than 100 countries.

Australia's RMIT University opens its European campus in Barcelona

June 7, 2013 01:41 AM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, which is one of Australia’s main universities, will offer Master and PhD programmes in Barcelona. The RMIT University, which has three campuses in Melbourne and two in Vietnam, is now coming to Europe and will coordinate its activities in the continent from Barcelona. The Australian education institution will also cooperate with several Catalan universities, in particular the UPC, the UPF and ELISAVA. The Catalan Minister for Economy and Knowledge, Andreu Mas-Colell, attended the opening ceremony. He underlined that Australia’s higher education system is “the most internationalised in the world”. He also stated that the RMIT campus in Barcelona “is a bridge towards Europe, the Mediterranean Area and Latin America”.

'Keep Calm and Speak Catalan', a poster of passive resistance

April 26, 2013 07:57 PM | Clara Roig Medina / Laia Ros

The poster ‘Keep Calm and Speak Catalan’ was created by Josep Maria Ganyet, expert in digital communication, in order to protest against the draft law proposed by the Spanish Minister of Education which puts at risk the school model of linguistic immersion in use in Catalonia since the end of Franco’s dictatorship. The poster, in its origin a tweet, came from the fields of social media and reached Congress as a symbol of passive resistance directed at those aiming to alter the Catalan school model. It refers to the historical poster ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’, which also became one of the most wide spread pop icons.

Multi-million euro support for internationalisation of Catalan fashion label Desigual

March 25, 2013 07:23 PM | CNA / Karina Reinhard

The fashion label Desigual based in Barcelona has obtained a €200 million line of credit from different banks. This financial support will be used to finance international expansion as well as plans for a new logistical centre in Vilamoura (Barcelona). Leading this investment is the Catalan bank CaixaBank, mostly owned by La Caixa. Under the slogan “Desigual – It’s not the same” the label wants to focus on continual improvements, innovation, engagement, tolerance, positivism and fun. Within this slogan now Desigual is trying to attain a more international status, enlarging its current team of 2,900 people from 72 different nationalities.

Barcelona will open the Museum of World Cultures in June 2014

October 23, 2012 09:44 PM | CNA / Laura Quintana

A journey around the world through art. This is the aim of the new museum in Barcelona, the Museum of World Cultures, which will open its doors in June 2014 in two gothic palaces in front of the Picasso Museum. This new cultural offer in the capital of Catalonia will host art pieces from non-western collections of the Ethnological Museum of Barcelona and private collections, mainly from Folch’s collection which was given to the City Council in 2011. The Museum of World Cultures will display about 700 pieces from Asia, Africa, America and Oceania in permanent and temporary exhibitions. It will also host an educational area. The museum will occupy an area of 2,100 square meters and will cost approximately €5 million.

MANGO closed 2011 with a €63.3 million net profit, after two years of heavy investment

August 10, 2012 10:25 PM | CNA / David Tuxworth

The Director General of the Catalan fashion retailer, Enric Casi, had already warned that the MANGO's profits in 2011 would be lower than usual due to its extensive investments and expansions abroad. In 2012, the company expects a profit of €200 million due to the investments and has already seen positive results for the first months of this year. The successful multinational was founded in Barcelona in 1984 and has over 2,400 outlets in 107 countries and over 11,000 employees.

Ascó Nuclear Power Plant’s information centre receives international award for architecture

August 9, 2012 11:07 PM | CNA / David Tuxworth

The information centre at Ascó Nuclear Power Plant in Catalonia has won one of the prestigious International Architecture Awards, organised by the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Arquitecture and Design. Ascó’s building, located in Southern Catalonia and designed by the Catalan architects Olga Felip and Josep Camps, was one of 81 projects from 21 countries to receive the prize. The jury highlighted the incorporation of the centre with the nuclear power plant, and its harmony with the surrounding landscape. The materials selected by the architects are designed to emulate day and night.

A project from Girona wins international award for designing a sustainable home in Alaska

July 2, 2012 06:36 PM | CNA /Anna Corbatera

An architectural project drawn up by teachers, ex-teachers and students at the University of Girona (UdG) got the third prize in the ‘Living Aleutian Design Competition’, one of the most prestigious sustainability competitions of the world. The test consisted in making a house of 150 square meters which was 100% sustainable in Alaska, a place that must stand extreme weather.

New talents and world renowned designers in the 9th edition of the 080 Barcelona Fashion Week

January 24, 2012 08:32 PM | CNA/ Joan Serra Mingot

Barcelona’s independent fashion fair kicks off this week, running from Wednesday 25th to Saturday 28th. The fall-winter 2012/2013 collections of prestigious brands and designers such as Desigual, Pierre Cardin or Mango will be presented in the centre of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter in the Plaça del Rei (King’s Square) and the Saló del Tinell, inside the former King’s Palace.