A look through his portfolio tells you he must be a very thoughtful, sensitive, and unusual man. Azúa, 42, studied design and fine arts at Barcelona University, and he continues to live and work in the city. In 2004 he started the design Studio Azúamoliné with fellow industrial designer Gerard Moliné. Azúa has won awards for his experimental work and his designs are regularly exhibited in cities around the world, including London, Milan, Vienna and New York.

Azúa´s work retains from his upbringing a strong attitude to nature and a distinctive rural romanticism that sets him apart from many other Barcelona-based offices.

You could give Azúa any object, confident that he’ll improve it. Cooking pans – his version for Faces Kitchenware concertina down into one neat package. His Flod stool for Mobles 114 is so light you can pick it up with one hand. His laundry basket for Cosmic is also a stool. Other companies that have benefited from his approach include the now global shoe brand, Camper, jewellery firm Karatnia and rug manufacturer Nani Marquina.

But it is his more experimental work that he considers to be most representative of his view on design. Perhaps his signature project is the Basic House, designed in 1999. This ultra-minimal dwelling is a 2x2x2m balloon made of silver and gold foil that can be folded up to fit in the user´s pocket, or unfolded to make an impromptu house.

The strange Coporrón (2005) is a wine glass combined with a traditional Catalan “porro´n” drinking jug. Another, almost timeless, product is Azúa´s Rebotijo (designed in 1999 and produced by Aguade Cerámica), an earthenware drinking jug with a spout that, although updated aesthetically, still feels like something ancient. “I am not from Barcelona, but from the Basque Country, and there the feeling for nature is very strong. In the Pyrenees we like to create nostalgia”- Azúa says.

Yes, Azúa is a gem. A definite one-off. We all benefit from his input into daily life.