Rational and reasoned: Interview to Francesc Rifé

*  The following article is an excerpt from Design in/from Spain magazine for smartphones and tablets.

You'll be hard pressed to find a ribbon or bow on any of Francesc Rifé's designs, as he's a designer who has a distaste for extraneous decoration. So there is understandable curiosity about what the hotel Diagonal 414 in Barcelona will look like when it opens, because the designer has revealed that it will be something 'more decorated' than his usual work.

The hotel is next door to the Casa de les Punxes (House of Spikes), an iconic Art Nouveau building by modernist architect Puig I Cadalfach. And being so close to such extraordinary architecture has inspired Rifé to develop 'a different concept' – albeit not one that strays from his studio's guiding principle of rationalism. He's not revealing much, but does say you won't find many hotels like this in a city that does, let's face it, have a plethora of hotels.

Rifé is a designer who's always been in demand from manufacturing companies since he launched his studio in Barcelona back in the mid-90s. His long client list includes Capdell, Now Carpets, Koo International, Joquer, Inbani, L'Antic Colonial, Kendo, Estiluz, Roca, Point, Vibia, Cosmic and Ziru.

As well as contract and residential furniture and lighting design, the multidisciplinary studio undertakes large interior design projects - recent work includes a new showroom for sanitaryware and tile giant Roca in Tehran and the living quarters at football team Real Madrid's training base outside the capital. The studio undertakes graphic design work, photography, art direction and stand design, while Rifé – who has won many awards during his long career - also finds time to lecture.

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