Must-See Visit Més de Vi: Design Museum of Barcelona – DHUB
Amidst modern architecture, surprising exhibitions, and a unique focus on how design (fashion, product, graphic, or decorative) influences our daily life, the Disseny Hub Barcelona (DHUB) has become one of the most important cultural spaces in the city. From Més de Vi, we recommend it as a must-see visit.
A museum to understand design in all its forms
The Museu del Disseny de Barcelona, located in the iconic DHUB building in Plaça de les Glòries, is the result of the merger of several historical collections. Its opening consolidated a museum project that brings together more than 80,000 pieces and is today a benchmark for those interested in fashion design, graphic design, decorative arts, or product design.
The building — with contemporary lines and ample spaces designed for experimentation — symbolizes Barcelona's new stage as a city of design, creativity, and cultural exchange.
How Disseny Hub Barcelona was born and what makes it unique
The origin of the Disseny Hub Barcelona is tied to a clear idea: to gather all the public heritage related to design in the city in a single space. In the early 2000s, the Barcelona City Council detected that the collections of decorative arts, graphic design, fashion design, and product design were dispersed, which prevented showing the public a complete vision of design culture in Catalonia.
Therefore, the council promoted the creation of an integral center that would allow design to be understood in its broadest sense: as a creative discipline, as a cultural tool, and as a key piece of Barcelona's identity.
After calling a public competition in 2001, the commission fell to the MBM Arquitectes studio — formed by Josep Maria Martorell, Oriol Bohigas, David Mackay, Oriol Capdevila, and Francesc Gual — who designed the emblematic museum building in the Plaça de les Glòries.
Thus, the DHUB was born with a clear purpose:
- to protect, research, and disseminate design heritage in Catalonia,
- to show how design is a social and cultural tool,
- to explain its evolution from the most traditional decorative arts to current innovation.
Unlike other museums, here the visitor understands design as something alive. It is not only looked at: it is reflected on, compared, and one learns how it influences our way of dressing, consuming, communicating, or inhabiting spaces.
Permanent, pop-up, and temporary exhibitions
The Disseny Hub organizes its content into various levels that allow different types of visits.
Permanent Collections
In addition to the exhibition displays, the DHUB of Barcelona preserves one of the country's largest design collections. This heritage fund brings together historical and contemporary pieces linked to product design, fashion design, graphic design, and decorative arts.
Its sections include 20th-century furniture and industrial objects, historical clothing and textiles, posters and graphic material, and an extensive collection of ceramics, glass, carriages, and furniture.
Permanent Exhibitions
The permanent exhibitions offer a narrative and accessible view of design heritage. Visitors can enjoy four tours that allow them to understand how design has accompanied daily life, fashion, visual communication, and contemporary debates:
- Matter Matters. Designing with the world
Reflection on the challenges of current and future design: sustainable materials, responsible innovation, and the role of product design in a changing world. - Do you design or do you work? The new visual communication. 1980–2003
A journey through the rise of graphic design in Barcelona: posters, corporate identity, visual culture, and the professionalization of a key discipline in the city. - The dressed body. Silhouettes and fashion (1550–2015)
A look at the history of fashion design through silhouettes, textiles, and techniques that have defined the aesthetics and identity of each era. - Common objects. Local histories, global debates
Everyday objects converted into cultural heritage: from household utensils to icons of industrial design and contemporary decorative arts.
Temporary and pop-up exhibitions
In addition to its permanent collections, the museum presents a series of pop-ups that continuously renew its programming and allow the discovery of recent projects, innovative materials, or contemporary perspectives on design, photography, and creativity.
These are the currently active pop-up exhibits:
- Field/Counter-field (15/07/2025 – 26/04/2026)
Installation by photographer Manolo Laguillo, consisting of two large photographic prints that dialogue with each other about the gaze, the framing, and the reading of urban space.
- The value of water (03/10/2025 – 11/01/2026)
An exhibition that brings together objects linked to water management and use, exploring the material, functional, and symbolic dimension of this essential resource. - Inspired in Barcelona: Luce (07/10/2025 – 08/02/2026)
An exhibition dedicated to lighting design, where light is presented as a creative language capable of transforming spaces, generating emotions, and building visual identity. - Fashion & Raw Materials (07/10/2025 – 17/12/2025)
Projects that investigate the use of natural and local materials applied to fashion design, with a regenerative and sustainable perspective.
Along with the permanent collections and pop-up displays, the DHUB also presents a series of temporary exhibitions that offer more specific views on photography, decorative arts, or contemporary architecture. These projects are renewed throughout the year and allow the discovery of new voices, materials, and approaches within design.
- Colita. Antifémina (31/10/2025 – 25/01/2026)
Exhibition co-organized by the DHUB, La Fábrica, and the Círculo de Bellas Artes that revisits the "Antifémina" project (1977) by Colita, a fundamental photographer in the visual chronicle of the 20th century. The exhibition reflects on the representation of women, critical gaze, and the role of photography as a tool for denunciation. - Art (D)éco 1925 | 2025. Design, mirror of the Decorative Arts (07/11/2025 – 25/01/2026)
A journey through one hundred years of Art Deco and its influence on decorative arts, interior design, and everyday objects. The exhibition shows how the movement continues to influence contemporary aesthetics and current product design production. - FAD Architecture and Interior Design Awards 2025 (18/11/2025 – 08/12/2025)
The DHUB hosts a new edition of the FAD Awards, one of the most prestigious competitions in architecture and interior design in the Iberian sphere. The exhibition presents a selection of finalist works that stand out for their technical innovation, material sensitivity, and space design.
The combination of permanent and temporary collections makes every visit to the Disseny Hub Barcelona a different experience.
A perfect plan: design, neighborhood, and gastronomy
The DHUB – Museu del Disseny de Barcelona is located in Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, very close to the Poblenou district. From Més de Vi, you can reach the museum in about 10–15 minutes by taxi, bike, or public transport, making it an ideal plan to combine culture and gastronomy in a single day.
A morning of design can end in a relaxed lunch at our restaurant; or an afternoon of exhibitions can close with a dinner accompanied by local wines in a cozy atmosphere. You can book your seat here, we’ll be happy to help!