Xavi Franquesa: "we are a platform to showcase Barcelona's design"

In the heart of the Gothic Quarter, we discover Il·lacions, a space that tests the possibilities of design, where a mix of disciplines converge and there is experimentation with functional and aesthetic standards. We are welcomed by Xavi Franquesa, founder and creative director of this space, who has made Il·lacions a universe of design linked to Barcelona, combining Il·lacions Design Gallery and Il·lacions Design Studio.

Connections bring together designers with artists or architects, you claim.

We are a platform to showcase talent in the city center, from over 50 creators and designers from the Barcelona area. All the visits we receive, even during openings or design talks, which we also organize, can discover the designer or creator; in such a way that links or future relationships can be established, for example, at the same hotel REC. There, more than 12 creators took part. And this is basically the reflection of our name... it's about one thing leading to another. And when this happens, you grow bigger and more capable.

We consider design as the least common multiple of our activity. All meanings of design are gathered here, from architectural design to textile design, lately with a strong commitment to sustainability and the circular economy.

Design is always present in our lives. In any object, there has always been someone behind it thinking about what you hold in your hands, what you wear, or where you live. Good design is not known for who made it, because it has endured for a long time, because it works, and because it is effective; otherwise, it would have been discarded.

Apart from the design with a Barcelona flair, what you aim to do is cultivate group intelligence, what does that mean?

Imagine, for instance, that we are commissioned a large interior design project. An architect or designer with a big ego might try to tackle it alone using their own resources. We believe the exact opposite. Instead of relying on a single individual, we prefer to collaborate with various designers, so what you get is a multitude of people thinking about the project, and it's a thousand times better than just one person who will have their limitations and a single point of view. Surrounding yourself with numerous perspectives is richer, and the outcome is extremely interesting.

Is this part of the Barcelona DNA?

Absolutely, always. Moreover, they don't have to be from Barcelona, there are people from all over here, but in a way, they all have very similar common traits that can be noticed if you pay attention. There are always some minimums that everyone meets, which is sobriety. That elegance that is very characteristic of Barcelona.

What does that Barcelona DNA consist of? What peculiarities does it have?

What is observed on the street. Everything is discreet, understated without shrillness, everything is very well thought out, there is a lot of reflection behind it. There is also a lot of research, although it may not be known or seen, there is experimentation. We are now working with the latest technology, on things that have never been done before, with glass, with microprinting, many processes that ultimately turn into objects that are like this: discreet, friendly, that integrate well into our lives, they are not ostentatious, they are not extroverted, but they are very imaginative...

What three words would you use to describe Catalan design?

Sober, elegant, and discreet, without any loudness.

What example of a city would you give as an extravagant city?

Paris. In Paris, you find gigantic pieces, perhaps nonsensical, very eccentric uses of materials, mixtures of color tones and very strange materials, especially of a large size...

Which city would be equivalent to Barcelona in terms of design issues?

We could be close to Milan.

Do you plan to continue working like this in the future, with people from here, from the area?

Yes, it's our mission or our commitment, whichever you prefer to call it. It's something very natural, logical. Productions are also done locally, everything is within this area, about 200Km around us, just to give you an idea. Beyond that, it would be forced, costly.

Looking ahead, what challenges do you set for yourselves here, what future exhibitions?

We always have 3 or 4 exhibitions in view.

We have a connection with the Uruguayan Mago Heart, who resides in Barcelona and is a graphic designer. She found herself immersed in a world of numbers and scientific data. Suddenly, she leaves design behind and becomes a performance artist who researches plants, creating ingenious devices, very strange elements. She is preparing a collection of glass containers that hold plants. And she will present a performance where humans, with their biodata, their magnetic field interacts with these plants as they approach, generating new vibrations that can be perceived through sounds, music...

We are preparing another one with Max Milà. He wants to introduce us, along with his partner Laura Sebastianes (a plastic artist), to a poetic installation with small silver jewels that incorporate light and are surprising and suggestive.

Madrid Design Festival, has invited us to participate. We're going to the Fernán Gómez Theater which is the best place. We will present the exhibition “Inferences”. We have asked each of our creators to present a work and to invite someone they identify with or admire, so that they bring us a piece. What we do is turn our creators into curators of other authors, and thus we generate two circles of action: ours, the hard core, and another around that is much more global. Then we become universal, we show ourselves in Madrid and then we come back here with the same exhibition.

It's an interesting exercise.

Is there a “Barcelona” project?

The Barcelona City Council has launched a campaign to attract conferences from all over the world. It has outlined six areas of interest in Barcelona, including restaurants, companies, start-ups that are intriguing... and they also want to leverage design, presenting the designer as an important figure in the city. And that's where we come in. We are, in part, protagonists of this Barcelona. Being such a well-designed city, at an architectural, urban planning, and street furniture level... even the metro graphics, any element that a newcomer encounters in Barcelona makes it very easy for them to get around. To experience it, in other cities, it can be extremely difficult.

What audience visits you?

All designers in Barcelona are faithful. Besides, we have the ELISAVA school right next door and the Massana also very close, many schools, many students eager to learn and discover... and then this amalgam of architects, art people... We are also attracting institutions.

Il·lacions Desig Gallery is open to all visitors of Barcelona with whom it hopes to engage in a conversation as rich and curious as the one Xavi Franquesa has gifted us this afternoon in the heart of the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, on the main floor of number 130 Las Ramblas, in a building by Núñez i Navarro.