Bachelor in Design students Naiara Escalante, Marc Martínez Ruiz, and Marina Morros present the results of their work as part of the Research Lab When Plastic Was Fantastic! on Wednesday, January 28 at 6 p.m. at the Disseny Hub Barcelona.
The project was developed within the course 3rd Year Design and Contemporary Art, under the supervision of María García Ruiz, and offers a critical perspective on plastic as a key material in the history of contemporary design.
Through the analysis of objects and design practices, the students reflect on the symbolic value of plastic and its social and environmental implications. The presentation at the Disseny Hub Barcelona brings academic work into a museum and professional context, reinforcing the active role of students in design research and dissemination.
Naiara Escalante – Classification of the early uses of plastic
This research focuses on the DHub collection and examines objects catalogued under the label plastic. But which plastic are we referring to? And why has one material been classified in a particular way rather than another? Classification of the early uses of plastic analyses these works from a formal perspective, while also considering the historical and artistic context that surrounds them, with the aim of understanding the criteria and meanings associated with the earliest uses of this material.
Marc Martínez – A balloon on the Diagonal
This research centres on the Globus, one of the first headquarters of the BCD, located on Diagonal Avenue, and explores its role as a driving force for industrial design in Catalonia and Barcelona. It is a space that has remained largely unknown to date, with only a few scattered references previously documented. A balloon on the Diagonal examines this site from a historical and design perspective, analysing its construction, the activities that took place there —with a notable presence of Eina — and its internal layout, with the aim of reconstructing its operation and understanding its significance in the early development of industrial design in the region.
Marina Morros – Early advertisements for plastic objects introduced into Catalan society
Taking the introduction of plastics into everyday life as its starting point, this research is based on the analysis of the magazine El Hogar y la Moda, held in the archive of the Design Museum–DHub and published in Barcelona between 1909 and 1987. By focusing on a specific period, the study identifies which were the first plastic objects and materials to be marketed in the country and how they were presented. The research concludes with a representative selection of these products, presented in the form of a collage.
The Research Lab When Plastic Was Fantastic! is part of the activities linked to the exhibition Matter Matters. Designing with the World and aims to promote a critical approach to the materials that have shaped contemporary material culture. Students from other design schools also participate in the project.
The outcomes of this process will be displayed in the display case of the Design Library and Archive starting January 28. 