To speak of the Disseny Hub Barcelona (DHub) is to speak of a building that, more than an object, functions as urban infrastructureDesigned by MBM Arquitectes, this cultural facility is embedded in Plaça de les Glòries to connect neighborhoods, channel flows, and open itself to the public as a place of transit, encounter, and knowledge, with a vestibule understood as a public street that connects levels and uses.
Around this large lobby, an architecture with two worlds is articulated: one underground, spacious and flexible where the most intense part of the program takes place, and another elevated, a cantilevered parallelepiped which overlooks the square and acts as a landmark. In parallel, the project for the new lobby that will directly link the L1 Glòries station with the ground floor of the DHub is progressing: it will be the first access from the metro to the interior of a public facilities in Barcelona, a strategic connection that reinforces the idea of the museum as a place of passage and of the city.
What is DHub and why does it matter?
The DHub brings together under one roof the FAD, the BCD and historical collections that were previously scattered throughout Barcelona: Decorative Arts, Textiles and Clothing, Ceramics and Graphic Arts, in addition to the El Clot–Josep Benet LibraryOf its 29.352 m² built area, 24.839 m² are functional surface area, and of these, 7.500 m² are reserved for exhibition spaces, placing it among the most relevant design museums of the world in terms of scale and ambition.
Most of the volume is buried to free up public space on the surface, a decision that responds both to an urban strategy and to the desire to make design an area everyday and accessibleMBM envisions it as a building that "makes a city" rather than a spectacle, with a clear function and spatial legibility that invites you to enter and pass through, even without consuming culture.
Urban situation and relations
The building is located at Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes 37–38, with its above-ground section facing the square and its underground development taking advantage of the difference in level with respect to Poblenou and the district 22 @The tall volume aligns with Ávila Street, marking a sea-mountain direction that extends the Eixample's layout and completes the perspective without closing it off. views of the great park central.
In this setting, a dialogue unfolds between iconic pieces: Jean Nouvel's Torre Agbar, b720's Encants market, and the DHub's "stapler." In contrast to the tower's verticality, the DHub opts for a more open, free-flowing expression. horizontal and pragmaticavoiding competing in gesture and, instead, enhancing its role as a connector between neighborhoods and complex urban levels.
Architectural concept: two buildings, a single interior street
The architecture comprises a subterranean layer and an above-ground layer starting at a level of +14,50 m. The lower layer concentrates the highest density of activities (exhibitions, library, storage, teaching, and research) and is naturally illuminated by a perimeter moat that acts as a large English courtyard, reinforced by a reflective water mirror and by six skylights that look out onto the public space.
The upper volume, a parallelepiped cut at an angle and the same width as Ávila Street, cantilevers over the plaza. This maneuver allows the planned building area to be met while occupying the minimum footprint and, at the same time, clearly emphasizes its role as a structure that organizes the flow of people around the plaza. traffic lanes that flow beneath it.
The grand lobby: architecture that behaves like infrastructure
Public access is provided through a single lobby with two entrances: one at +7 m from the extension of Ávila Street, crossing the garden and the lake, and the other at +14,50 m from the plaza. The great void is a covered squarepermeable and in almost daily use, which connects with the cafeteria, shop and, via stairs, escalators and elevators, with all levels of the complex.
This interior “street” has been designed to remain active and legible, allowing passage even when museum activity is at a reduced pace. It facilitates a rich mobility experience, where the architecture softens changes in level and intuitively leads to exhibitions. services and auditoriums.
New Glòries–DHub lobby: direct access from L1
The DHub will be the first municipal facility with direct access from the metro, connecting the Glòries station (L1) to the building's ground floor. The interior design project, promoted by the Museu del Disseny–DHub and the FADThe project was awarded to AMOO STUDIO SCP following a competition. The design proposes a fluid and fully accessible space, acting as a transition between transport and culture, with opening hours coordinated with the DHub (from 9:00 to 21:00; on Mondays, from 10:00). 15:30).
The intervention includes a 380 m² main lobby, while the detailed functional area for its program is defined around 310m²The set includes signage, information screens and a bar that moves to this area to reinforce the urban character of the access, including a large multifunctional bench as a waiting place and interaction with the identity DHub brand.
One of the most distinctive features is a suspended geometric ceiling organicwhich organizes the light, houses technical systems, and guides movement. For safety, an intermediate lobby with finishes consistent with the overall design is also included, and the City Council has defined a specific plan for cleaning, maintenance, flow control, and security to avoid interfering with the museum operations.
According to the City Council's Governing Commission, the works are scheduled to begin in early 2026 and be completed in the summer, coinciding with the world capital of architecture and the UIA congress, with a budget of €1.079.228 (around one million, according to previous estimates). The connection complements improvements carried out between 2023 and 2024 with new ramps and walkways to facilitate access. accessibility.
Laia Bonet, First Deputy Mayor and President of TMB, emphasized that this operation contributes to the transformation of Glòries into a major hub for transport, amenities and housing, and allows for greater direct access to a key facility such as the DHub from the subway. BIMSA, TMB, the Department of Territory of the Generalitat, ICUB and the museum itself participate in the coordination, reinforcing the character interinstitutional of the project.
Competition and program for the new lobby
The portfolio call promoted by FAD selected teams from the fields of architecture, interior design, and product design. The competition was divided into two phases: pre-selection of finalists and presentation of the design definition, after which the jury selected the winning proposal. The portfolio phase closed on July 16, with participation conditions for individuals and legal entities, individually or as a team, and the possibility of OUTDOORS in case of award.
The functional program of the area considers: a circulation area as a vestibule prior to the museum, a cafe open Without a kitchen, with a small enclosed storage area, a space for promoting DHub activities and exhibitions, and room for equipment cabinets. This entrance will become one of the busiest, literally turning into another building facade.
DHub program and spaces
Below the +14,50 m level are distributed two floors and a mezzanine with the greatest programmatic load: main exhibition hall, reserves and collection management, offices, library, documentation center, research and educational activitiesAt that level, the lobby functions as a covered plaza where the shop and the cafeteria-restaurant located at +6,98 m with approximately 900 m² converge.
The main exhibition hall measures approximately 3.000–3.990 m² according to documentation, and is configured as a large, open, and flexible space. Natural light enters through the perimeter moat and is enhanced by six skylights that extend up to the roof garden, allowing light to filter through glass surfaces. translucent on polished concrete floors that maximize continuity and exhibition neutrality.
The El Clot–Josep Benet Library occupies 1.732 m² on two levels with a flexible layout to accommodate diverse users. It offers support for education and self-directed learning, ICT training, internet and Wi-Fi access, computers and online services, as well as school and outreach activities. cultural throughout the year.
At the top of the building, the 320-seat auditorium can be reconfigured as a convention center with larger seats and integrated tables in rows 1 to 7 (F1000 tables). The seating combines 6035 Flex and 6061 Microflex seats with black upholstery and includes wheelchair-accessible seats with child restraints. removable For adaptations. Materials: oak floors, ceilings with varnished galvanized steel panels and plasterboard walls painted white with selective coatings.
Access, logistics and evacuation
In addition to the two public entrances in the main lobby, there is a service entrance on Badajoz Street for loading and unloading exhibition materials, with space for two trucks and a loading dock, and another in the plaza, between the building and Álava Street, for staff and goods The perimeter includes the neighborhood's cafe, restaurant, and public library. Emergency exits are also located within the perimeter, as required for evacuation.
From the grand lobby, all basement services are accessible, and via fixed staircases, escalators, and elevators, the upper levels are reached, creating a spatial continuity that culminates in the main hall. conferencesThe direct connection to the subway, now operational, completes the original concept of the lobby as a transitional space between city and culture.
Materials, structure and key figures
The exterior envelope is constructed with dark gray metal panels—pre-patinated QUARTZ-ZINC zinc, aluminum, and cast iron—and glass. The overall effect is industrial with metallic reflections, while in the public space a green carpet and a luminous graphics They bring color and activity.
The structure combines rolled steel with reinforced and post-tensioned concrete, allowing for an impressive cantilever of approximately 30–36 m over the plaza, freeing up space for public use. In terms of dimensions, the project comprises more than 24.000 m² of solid slab and 3.500 m² of lightweight slab, with 25.000 m³ of formwork. FOR THE employed during execution.
For walls, TRIO formwork with CB-240 climbing system and BR platforms were used in cores. The slabs were constructed with the Skydeck system and Multiprop props with extensions of up to 6 m, Rosett shoring for greater heights and inclined slabs, as well as MULTIFLEX systems and metal profiles for the perimeter wall formwork. cantilever of 2 m.
Lighting, energy and sustainability
The project achieves a high environmental standard with an A energy rating certified by the ICAENPassive sustainability plays a decisive role: nearly 70% of the built volume is underground, solid facades with well-calibrated openings, solar protection and insulation, waste storage and treatment, and other solutions are used. pre-industrialized.
For sanitation, a separate network is used for rainwater reuse. Plumbing features minimum consumption control and flow regulation. The heating and cooling system connects to the network of Disticlima for cold and hot water, with heat recovery from refrigeration plants, natural gas boilers, free-cooling when the weather permits, latent heat recovery in extraction, and volume air conditioners variable.
In electricity, low consumption is prioritized with presence detectors, timers, and photovoltaic panels for direct use of solar energy, in addition to centralized management of facilitiesIn the exhibition halls, individually programmable LED tube lighting complements the changing nature of the samples, facilitating customized scenes and color temperatures.
Public space: green carpet and BruumRuum
Above the underground level, the landscaped plaza integrates with the Glòries project as public spaceThe vegetation carpet is created using low-maintenance species and systems to ensure sustainability and easy operation over time, while the pergola and lighting graphics amplify the playful character of the place.
The BruumRuum installation by David Torrents & artec3 with LEDsCONTROL introduces a dialogue between sound and light using 550 LEDs embedded in the pavement. The 3.300 m² interactive surface “listens” to its surroundings and users through sensors, transforming the light pattern in real time according to the intensity of voices and noise. environmental.
The lower entrance, facing Ávila Street, is enhanced by a reflecting pool that reflects light into the interior. Experimental pieces were even tested, such as a self-supporting structure with Hypermembrane technology designed in collaboration with MaterFAD, which was suspended over the water for a period of time and was later... withdrawal in 2014.
MBM, the “stapler” and the sense of making a city
MBM Arquitectes —with the figure of Oriol Bohigas At the helm, alongside Josep Maria Martorell and David Mackay, he has designed more than 500 projects since 1951 and is key to the transformation of Barcelona. Bohigas, involved with Grup R to revive modern architecture in the post-war period, argued that architecture is a public service and that, more than a form, it should be an instrument for make city.
In Glòries, the proximity of the Agbar Tower necessitated a strategy without rivalry: the DHub becomes serene and horizontal, emphasizing its cantilevered "head" as just the right amount of urban gesture to order and connect. Popularly nicknamed "the stapler“This building is better understood as a node than as an icon, as a connector that makes a historically complex urban intersection legible.”
The building also embodies an idea of cultural democracy: concentrating collections and services underground to free up public space, and displaying the design process without pretension. Thus, visitors may stumble upon the museum on their way and, almost without realizing it, end up browsing an exhibition or peeking into a educational workshop.
Usage, management and everyday life
The pre-pandemic influx exceeded 300.000 annual visitorsThis figure speaks volumes about both the program's appeal and its strategic location. The new metro access will improve connectivity from Parc i la Llacuna del Poblenou and solidify the DHub as an urban gateway, thanks also to the new platform exit planned for the L1.
To ensure that direct access does not interfere with operations, a plan for cleaning, security, maintenance, and flow management has been implemented, in addition to adjustments to the spatial organizationThe result: a lobby that is used as a passageway, as a place to disseminate information about activities, and as an informal meeting point supported by the bar and the multifunctional bench.
On the upper level of the public space, the green carpet and the lake—where groundwater is used for non-potable purposes—incorporate gravel filters and aquatic plants that facilitate natural purification. These are small pieces that, together, support the overall efficiency of the whole and its coherence with the environmental labels obtained.
Viewed calmly, the DHub is a compendium of urban and technical decisions that transform a road crossing into a place: lowering the mass to free up the plaza, raising a minimal and expressive volume, using a lobby as a public street, opening up to the metro, and hybridizing culture with mobility, commerce, rest, and light. This balance between rigor and everyday life—with its large cantilevered structure, its metallic skinIts interactive plaza and modular rooms explain why the DHub has gone from a "discussed object" to an essential piece in a Barcelona that reinvents itself without losing identity.
