Throughout February, Madrid is hosting a festival on all aspects of design with exhibitions and events taking place all over the city. The creative scene has always been lively in February with the Arco art fair and lots of other arty goings-on, so it is a logical step to broaden things out a bit.
The dynamic cultural centre La Fábrica created the festival but lots of other places are involved.
Helsinki is the guest city and at the Only YOU Atocha, which is the official hotel partner for the festival, the spectacular top floor is hosting a pop-up restaurant with Finnish chef Jyrki Tsutsunen, who is renowned for using the comforting concept of hygge in his food. There is also a sauna designed by Jairo Rodríguez on the roof terrace and, instead of sickly-sweet sentimentalism on Valentine’s Day, the Finnish day of friendship, Ystäväpäivä, is being celebrated, which sounds like a much better and more modern idea to me. There is a special dinner which includes smoked salmon, nettles and elk steak!
There are around 50 things on all over the city. At the Fernán Gómez Centro de Arte there are three exhibitions, including one by Jaime Hayón, one of Spain’s most interesting designers who has created everything from fabrics to furniture and interiors. Also on display there is the Alfaro Hofman Collection, which charts the development of household objects throughout the 20th century, as well as Vinyl Graphics, which showcases some of the best album covers over the decades.
Have a look at Madrid Design Festival for the full programme.
Mooching around Spain 