Espai Formica®

2022
Nau Bostik, Carrer Ferran Turné, 1-11, 08027 Barcelona, Spain

Espai Formica® is a collaborative academic/professional project, developed between Rhode Island School of Design, Elisava School of Design and Engineering, and led by the New York/Madrid based design studio müsing–sellés for the Formica Group.

Within the framework of the “New European Bauhaus” initiative, the intervention seeks to study and question the capacity of collective, public, and private spaces. The ephemeral architectural space aims to adapt to the everchanging society and contribute to a new common sense of space to arrive at a new collective sense of belonging. Espai Formica was an adaptive reuse project that intervened the Nau Bostik complex in a new decapitalized, non-hierarchical, and inclusive space for the community.

The reactivation was carried out through sequence of spaces for coexisting, which not only evokes a new collective domesticity through audiovisual and sensory installations, but materiality. The space has been designed entirely with Formica® high-pressure laminates, enhancing the material's versatility and ability to create multipurpose architectural spaces and atmospheres. Through a combination of simple hues and metallic finishes with varying levels of reflectivity, a space of nuance and contrast presents a fresh scenario in the landscape of Barcelona that communicates and explores what collective belonging is.