BD Barcelona Contemporary Furniture

Just like their website states, BD Barcelona has always been an atypical company. Its founders come from an architectural background and they started cultivating a passion for beauty above function. Mass production is not what BD is all about; the company strives to reach artisanal perfection with their products and that means that they concentrate on each and every piece that they make. Characterised by superior quality, short-series productions, these products are modern furniture pieces that bridge the gap between design and art.

BD edited Gaudí's furniture in the '80s and it surprised everyone in the '90s with an entire collection of furniture and lamps designed by Dalí. BD Barcelona products can only be described as unique and daring. Their designs are not just contemporary, but also eye-catching, excentric, even bizarre at times. This is exactly what makes BD Barcelona a great company; they have the necessary know-how to make artistic products that are still valuable, useful, and fashionable. This is a statement that reiterates how important it is to work on each new version of your products from start to finish, bringing high-end design cues to the market.

BD Barcelona, or simply BD, started out as Bocaccio Design in 1972, which was later changed to BD Ediciones de Diseño in that same year. The prestigious Spanish design company was founded by a group of architects and designers - Cristian Cirici, Lluis Clotet, Mireia Riera, Oscar Tusquets and Pep Bonet.

With founders leaning to the artistic and architectural side, rather than business, BD Barcelona has long been considered atypical, a definition that spilled out to its design and production process. Some of the company’s best collections are a result in close collaboration with some of the world’s best and widely recognised designers. BD Barcelon has collaborated with Antoni Gaudi, Salvador Dali, Alfredo Häberli, and Oscar Tusquets Blanca, to name a few. Collaboration is an enduring aspect of the company’s production process.

BD Barcelona also favours artisan work more than mass production, resulting in a collection that resembles works of art, instead of industrial pieces. Because of craft manufacturing, most of their products are of superior quality, presented in short-series productions and limited editions, on occasion.

During the 80s, BD Barcelona worked with Gaudi to edit furniture pieces for his famous buildings. It was awarded with the Premio Nacional de Diseño in 1989. In the early 90s, the company launched its first exclusive collection of lamps and furniture designed by Dali. It was also in 1990 when the BD Barcelona received the European Community Design Prize.

Production

BD Barcelona put into production several products during its founding years. These included the Americano Desk, Bedhead XVIII C, Casa Navas Fireplace, Domino Table, Flamingo Lamp, Hermafrodita, Inglés Vase, Jipi Lamp, la Scala de Milán, Mackintosh Chair, Negro Sofas, Red & Blue Chair, Velón, and the Xinas Nest tables.

Among these productions, the Negro Sofas is one of the finest examples of modular furniture with pieces that can be re-arranged to creature pieces of different design and seating capacity.

Fast forward to today, BD Barcelona still follows playful, unique and modern designs. A great example is the Monkey-shaped Table that is designed by Spanish designer Jaime Hayón. It showcases a form of a monkey from the waist up, with one hand holding the top of the table, and the other placed on top of its head. Made of solid architectural resin, it is built for both indoor and outdoor use.

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