BD Barcelona Design

About

BD Barcelona Design is a Spanish design-edition company based in Barcelona. It was established in 1972 under the name BD Ediciones de Diseño by a group of Barcelona architects and designers associated with the studio collective Studio PER, among them Oscar Tusquets, Pep Bonet, Cristian Cirici, Lluís Clotet and Mireia Riera. The company was created so that its founders could produce and market their own designs, and those of contemporaries, with creative independence from the conventions of the furniture industry of the period. The "BD" initials trace back to Bocaccio, a Barcelona nightclub linked to the city's cultural circles in the final years of the Franco era. The company operates primarily as an "editor" of design rather than a conventional manufacturer, meaning it acquires the rights to produce and distribute works by designers and artists and oversees their production in limited or serial runs. This model has allowed BD Barcelona to bring both historical and contemporary designs to market. The firm is recognised for its work in Spanish design furniture and Barcelona design, and its catalogue spans seating, tables, storage, lighting and decorative objects. A significant part of BD Barcelona's identity comes from its reissues of pieces by two figures central to Catalan culture: the architect Antoni Gaudí and the artist Salvador Dalí. Among the Gaudí furniture reissues is the Calvet chair, based on the chair Gaudí designed for Casa Calvet in Barcelona, along with related pieces such as the Calvet bench. The company also holds rights connected to furniture designs by Salvador Dalí, and its Dalí collection includes the Dalilips sofa, a lip-shaped sofa developed by Dalí together with Oscar Tusquets; the Leda sculpture-armchair; and the Bracelli lamp, a figure-form light derived from Dalí's imagery. In addition to historical reissues, BD Barcelona produces work by contemporary designers. The Showtime collection by the Spanish designer Jaime Hayon is among the company's well-known contemporary lines, encompassing chairs, sofas and accessories. The firm's own founders also contributed enduring designs to the catalogue, such as the Gaulino chair by Oscar Tusquets. Over the decades BD Barcelona has worked with a range of international designers, and its roster has included names such as Konstantin Grcic, Ettore Sottsass, Ronan Bouroullec, Sabine Marcelis and the duo Muller Van Severen, reflecting a catalogue that mixes archival editions with newly commissioned pieces. The company is headquartered in Barcelona, at premises in the city's Poblenou district, which has historically been associated with design and manufacturing. Its products are positioned in the upper segment of the market, with many items produced in limited quantities or as art editions, and it has received design awards including the Spanish Premio Nacional de Diseño in 1989 and a European Community design prize in 1990. Ownership of the company changed in recent years. In 2022 a majority stake was acquired by a group of new partners drawn from design publishing and architecture, including figures from the magazine Apartamento (Nacho Alegre, Omar Sosa and Marco Velardi), architects from Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, and Igor Urdampilleta of the studio Arquitectura G. Co-founder Oscar Tusquets remained associated with the company through the transition, which was accompanied by a revised brand identity presented at Milan Design Week in 2023. BD Barcelona's pieces are sold through its own channels and a network of international design retailers and distributors. Its market spans residential interiors, where collectors and design-focused buyers acquire its editions, as well as hospitality and contract settings that use its furniture and lighting. The combination of Gaudí furniture reissues, Dalí art editions and contemporary commissions has kept the company's catalogue associated with the intersection of furniture, art and Barcelona design.