Dezeen School Shows: the reimagining of a former seaside thermal power plant north of Barcelona set out in painterly visualisations is among projects by Elisava students.
Also included is a series of furniture characterised by the use of taut cables and a modular system of ceramic and wood objects designed for use in urban micro apartments.
Elisava
Institution: Elisava
School: School of Design and Engineering
Courses: Bachelor in Design and Innovation and Undergraduate Degree in Design and Engineering
School statement:
"The Bachelor in Design and Innovation at Elisava trains designers with a creative profile, making them able to apply critical thinking and an exploratory vision of the world to projects, and making them capable of questioning and dialoguing across disciplines with other people from wider social, production, scientific or cultural environments.
"With this bachelor, students can specialise in graphic design, product design, space design or interactive experiences design.
"The Bachelor in Industrial Design Engineering trains students to be design engineers and product developers with a marked transdisciplinary profile, able to conceptualise, design, develop and produce a product, system or service that brings value to industry, society and the planet we live on.
"The Elisava Grad Show brings together every year more than 500 final degree projects from students of the Bachelor in Design and the Bachelor in Industrial Design Engineering, alongside the master's and postgraduate programmes.
"This celebration of final projects at Elisava unfolds as a collective narrative, offering a wide range of stories to explore and share with the city of Barcelona during a programme of events and activities.
"The exhibition features projects developed in collaboration with companies, NGOs, studios, research centres, cultural organisations, institutions and Elisava Research, as well as independent personal work.
"As part of Elisava's 65th anniversary, this year's grad show takes on a special significance by returning to the city centre.
"The aim was to open up the school to Barcelona, bringing design closer to citizens and connecting directly with the vibrant context of La Rambla.
"By situating the exhibition in such a central location, Elisava sought to share the work of the students with a wider audience, reinforcing the dialogue between design, the city and its people."
USM Haller-T by Mateo Prado
"Haller-T proposes an additional layer – not a correction, not a crutch: an extension of the language.
"Through a system of cables and tensioners, the project introduces tension as a force that complements the compression that defines USM. The same structural logic, but in the opposite direction.
"The result is configurations that were not possible within the system: cantilevers, suspended elements, long spans, or an explicit connection between the furniture and its surroundings.
"Haller-T does not invent a new system: it demonstrates that the existing system contained, within its own logic, the exact space where tension could be introduced."
Student: Mateo Prado
Course: Design and Innovation
Tutors: Luis Eslava and German Ortiz
Email: mateucho.04[at]gmail.com
Sobre Com Perforar Una Frontera (O Com Fer Un Colador) by Sol Claret
"Through the figure of the colander and its relationship to the hole and the MescladÃs kitchen, this project explores how an everyday object can be transformed into a tool for thinking about the relationship between borders and coexistence.
"The colander thus ceases to be merely a kitchen utensil and becomes a material and symbolic device capable of filtering, connecting and generating new forms of relationship.
"The research begins with the hole and the act of perforating as a response to opaque and delimiting structures.
"The project takes shape through a series of workshops and collective practices developed in collaboration with MescladÃs, where manual gestures are approached as practices of experimentation, permeabilisation and openness."
Student: Sol Claret
Course: Design and Innovation
Tutors: Danae Esparza and Guim Espelt
Email: solclaretmuxart[at]gmail.com
L'Acústica Del Jo by Jordina Cascante Riberès
"I open my eyes and, in front of the mirror, I observe a body that I know and yet find unfamiliar. I move closer slowly, wondering who I am, and I realise that I am everything I do not know.
"Then, within the tissues, I discover a set of vibrations passing through me. Suddenly, I return to the mirror, where a body reveals itself to me – one that has ceased to be an image, a body that possesses sonic matter.
"This project emerges from the need to understand my relationship with my own sound and how it shapes my identity.
"Through the body, objects and technology, I explore the possibility of listening to myself from another place, transforming my body into an instrument, material and sonic space."
Student: Jordina Cascante Riberès
Course: Design and Innovation
Tutor: Saúl Baeza
Email: jordinacascante[at]gmail.com
Corpus—liber by Carlos Nogales Alcázar
"This project asks what makes the book unique and why, despite technological progress, it has not been replaced.
"Its permanence does not depend only on its function, but on the physical, symbolic and sensory relationship it establishes with human beings.
"In an age shaped by the internet and artificial intelligence, the book becomes an object of refuge that invites pause, presence and attention.
"Its materiality turns reading into a bodily and ritual experience through gesture, touch, rhythm, weight and smell.
"Organised into five photographic movements, the project visualises the bond between body and book and the qualities that keep it present today."
Student: Carlos Nogales Alcázar
Course: Design and Innovation
Tutor: RocÃo Hidalgo Fraile
Email: carlos.nogaless[at]gmail.com
ROCE. Intimidad Como Estructura Del Deseo Aprendido Entre Mujeres by Nara Fusté
"This final degree project explores how social norms become inscribed in the body and manifest through everyday gestures, such as the way we touch, occupy space or relate to others.
"The project challenges the idea that relationships between women exist outside normative structures, proposing instead that they are also shaped by a cultural and emotional inheritance that influences roles, behaviours and relational dynamics.
"Through sequencing, materiality and the dialogue between archive, photography and text, it uses editorial design and the photobook as tools to create a narrative and visual experience in which the tensions of intimacy are made visible."
Student: Nara Fusté
Course: Design and Innovation
Tutor: Pau Llavador
Email: narafustecampos[at]gmail.com
Node. Del Paisatge Resilient Al Land Art by Laura Sun Casellas Sanz
"Node is born from an artistic approach that explores conceptual landscaping, Land Art and the design of ephemeral spaces.
"Rooted in the memory and nostalgia of an oriental landscape, the proposal brings the essence of Asian scenery to transform the waterfront of Les Tres Xemeneies.
"The project falls within the framework of the Catalunya Media City plan, located at the current Turbine Hall.
"The intervention consists of two parts that complement each other: a modification of the site's topography and a temporary, low-impact installation creating new spaces for connectivity."
Student: Laura Sun Casellas Sanz
Course: Design and Innovation
Tutor: Daria De Seta
Email: lucasellassanz[at]gmail.com
Allign. Smart Hanging System by Albert Clariana Llobet
"Allign is an intelligent system integrated into premium retail furniture that automatically repositions garments to maintain uniform spacing between hangers.
"Developed from the observation of visual disorder caused by customer interaction in fashion stores, the solution is seamlessly embedded within a standard clothing rail.
"By combining industrial design, mechanical engineering, electronics and automation, Allign preserves the store's aesthetic quality, enhances brand perception and reduces repetitive staff tasks through invisible automation."
Student: Albert Clariana Llobet
Course:Â Industrial Design Engineering
Tutor: Xavier Riudor BuscÃ
Email: albert.clariana04[at]gmail.com
Arquitectura modular per a bombes de calor by Teo Guri
"This project develops a new modular structure for GasN2's industrial heat pumps.
"The proposal transforms a custom-built system into a repeatable, scalable architecture that is easier to assemble.
"Based on folded sheet-metal components and mechanical joints, the system reduces complexity, improves control over the production process and lowers structural costs compared to the previous model.
"The result is an industrialisable platform, validated through a full-scale prototype, that allows future machines to be adapted without having to redesign them from scratch."
Student: Teo Guri
Course:Â Industrial Design Engineering
Tutor: Alberto Ibáñez
Email: teo[at]guri.cat
L'Ombra. Refugi Climà tic Al Raval by Berta Bigas
"L'Ombra is a modular urban device designed to create spaces for shade, play and social interaction in the Raval neighbourhood.
"The project responds to the climate emergency through a sustainable and replicable proposal that integrates solar energy generation, areas for rest and recreational activities, while encouraging citizen participation and the collective use of public space.
"The project was developed with the participation of CCCB, La Traginera and Elisava, and in collaboration with organisations and companies including Pla de Barris, Persiana Barcelona, and SUD Renovables."
Student: Berta Bigas
Course:Â Industrial Design Engineering
Tutors: Maria Charneco and Danae Esparza
Email: bertabigassilvestre2[at]gmail.com
Doomo: Modular Ceramic System for Compact Urban Living by Mariona Almuni
"Doomo is a modular ceramic system for compact urban living, developed in collaboration with BD Barcelona.
"Two slip-cast stoneware modules and a wood top that become a side table, stool, umbrella stand, fruit bowl or plant pot depending on the day and the need.
"One object, five lives, one small apartment. Conceived for design-literate urban dwellers.
"A system that reconfigures as life does, building a relationship between user and object that makes replacement feel unthinkable.
"The most sustainable object is the one worth keeping, worth moving and worth passing on."
Student: Mariona Almuni
Course:Â Industrial Design Engineering
Tutors: Cristina Taverner and Otto Canalda
Email: marionaalmuni[at]gmail.com
Partnership content
This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Elisava. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.