Goodbye to Miguel Milà

Miguel Milà Sagnier (Barcelona, 1931), a pioneer of Spanish design, has died in Bilbao at the age of 93. Author of emblematic pieces in the urban furniture sector such as the Tram, NeoRomántico and Bruno urban benches, as well as many other iconic designs in Spanish design such as the TMC lamps, TMM, the Cesta, the magnificent A 14 fireplace, the Tombal ashtray-umbrella stand, and the Salvador natural fibre chair, to name but a few.

With more than seven decades dedicated to the profession, Milà was an icon of Spanish design and its modernity. He always remained active, as demonstrated by an interesting retrospective exhibition, «Miguel Milà (Pre)industrial Designer», the most important exhibition held in Spain on his figure, inaugurated in February during the edition of the Madrid Design Festival, in whose assembly and organization he actively participated.

His works are characterized by showing rigorous functionality, always guided by the same idea «design that is not useful, tires and, in addition, ends up being ugly». His work made a virtue of its initial context, marked by scarcity, going through different stages that went from his work as an interior designer to his achievements as an editor and his participation in different companies.

In 1960, Miguel Milà was one of the founders of the industrial design section of the ADI-FAD together with names such as André Ricard, Antonio de Moragas, Oriol Bohigas or Rafael Marquinal. Milà was the first winner of the National Design Prize in 1987, followed by the Creu de Sant Jordi (1993), the Compasso d'Oro Internationale Prize (2008) and the Medal of Merit in Fine Arts (2016). He was due to be awarded the Barcelona Gold Medal in September.

The Museu del Disseny de Barcelona houses the Fondo Miguel Milà, which contains more than 2,000 documents (plans, photographic material, models and sketches) for many of the interior design and product design projects carried out by Milá throughout his life.