Checking out D in Barcelona

Arriving in Barcelona and settling into the hotel, I had an evening to explore before meeting up with Peta. But first—I needed to remember to eat. Some people travel just to eat; I have to make conscious efforts to stop and eat at regular intervals. I opted for a super traditional Spanish dish of pho from a little corner restaurant behind the hotel. An interesting take on the noodles, which were more fettuccine than the standard pho noodles I’m used to. The fresh chilli gave me a refreshing boost of energy to tackle an early evening of exploration.

At this point in the trip, I feel I’m giving off art tourist vibes—galleries have been the theme so far. Continuing on that, I decide on the DHub museum. No, not that kind of D (sadly, as there appear to be some fine specimens around here), but a design museum. Walking up to the museum, I pass what appears to be a scrap metal deposit depot. A steady stream of men pushing supermarket trolleys overloaded with wire, refrigerator parts, and other random metals enter the warehouse to deposit their hauls—where are they getting this from?

I ponder the source of the scrap metal as I walk the remaining 10 minutes to the museum. It’s open for another hour, so I buy a ticket and start on the ground floor. The museum is dedicated to the history of design from the 1980s to today. Like art, I don’t understand design principles, fashion, or style—but the gallery did well to provide a narrative of how things have changed, both in terms of aesthetics and sustainability.

The first gallery would have made my friend Bec drool with excitement over the extensive collection of chairs from the decades. It wasn’t all chairs—a lot of other random stuff here too, all well presented and comparing the story of design for style or practicality. A few photos taken of chairs for Bec, I head upstairs to learn about graphic design changes over the decades.

This gallery features selected posters, magazines, and other graphic pieces from over the years. Beyond the bright colours and retro designs, I was drawn to a timeline on the back wall. It mapped world events (think Iraq war, AIDS epidemic) to major design changes and significant outcomes in Spain—an interesting perspective, and a little trip down memory lane to the days of the first CD-ROMs and beyond.

With time running out, I head to the final exhibition—unknowingly saving the best for last. The entry corridor features another timeline along each wall, this time tracking technological and philosophical developments from the 1500s to today. You’d need a full day to take it all in, but it covers everything from the evolution of AI to shifting thoughts on gender and sexuality. Whoever put this together in such a captivating way did a brilliant job.

Like the rest of the gallery, the final area focused on sustainability and awareness. It was divided into sections based on raw materials—think petrochemicals, animal, mineral, plant—with finished products made from each. Some pieces fit perfectly into their category, while others challenged my assumptions, like the pottery cola bottles.

As I finished the last room, “The gallery is closing” was announced over the speakers—well, in Spanish. A perfectly timed end to a thought-provoking and well-designed design museum. I wander into the nearby park, spotting the Sagrada Família in the distance. I think about walking closer, maybe exploring a bit more, but decide not to push myself. It’ll all still be there tomorrow—I don’t need to do everything today.

Back at the hotel, Peta arrives not long after me. We catch up over a cocktail in the bar before calling it a night. Barcelona might just be redeeming herself a little on this trip.Baca selengkapnya