Miguel Milá (1931-2024) was much more than the creator of iconic lamps such as the TMC, the TMM or the Cesta: his mark is in our streets and in our public transport. You don’t know it, nor probably know his name, but you have sat in one of his creations.
Now, the DHUB exhibition “ Miguel Milá. Designer (pre)industrial” ( from June 19 to September 28, 2025) will allow you to meet one of the most influential names in Spanish and Barcelona design.
A journey through his life and work
Curated by Gonzalo Milá and Claudia Oliva, the exhibition will bring together more than 200 pieces and documents that intertwine his personal trajectory, social context and work. For the first time, a substantial part of the Miguel Milá Fund of the Design Library and Archive will be on display: more than 5,000 documents, prototypes and projects that explain how a young interior designer in post-war Barcelona ended up defining the aesthetics and functionality of Spanish industrial design.
The tour, divided into eight rooms, explores his beginnings, when, faced with scarcity, he began to manufacture the objects he could not find, his link with craftsmanship and his constant search for optimization, sustainability and timeless beauty. The exhibition also dedicates a space to his interventions in public spaces, where he sought simple, ergonomic and durable solutions.
From the living room to the platform
In addition to domestic pieces such as lamps, chairs or fireplaces, visitors will discover lesser-known but equally influential projects, such as the interior design of the Barcelona Metro carriages or the design of benches and other elements of urban furniture that today form part of the city’s landscape.
The NeoRomantic bench that rests in parks and squares in Barcelona and the ergonomic redesign of subway seats are part of a legacy that has accompanied the urban life of millions of people without many knowing its authorship.
The exhibition, organized by DHub, La Fábrica and the Madrid Design Festival, is also a tribute from Barcelona to one of its great creators, who passed away in August 2024. Last September, the City Council awarded him the Gold Medal of the City. In Milá’s own words, the design had to be “useful, simple and honest”. Those who visit this exhibition will be able to see that he achieved this… and that they have probably already used many of his works without even knowing it.