PENADES

Aperitivo: Spanish Design in Conversation is a 360º cultural project commissioned by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. The project was presented at the Museum Angewandte Kunst within the framework of the World Design Capital 2026.

Context

The office was commissioned to lead an initiative that aimed to promote Spanish design in Germany. The project unfolded through two interconnected components: a curatorial framework together with a selection of designers representing the Spanish design landscape, and a spatial installation conceived to host and articulate the programme.

Curatorial framework

In Spanish culture, aperitivo signals the transition from individual routine to collective exchange. It precedes the meal, yet its purpose extends beyond refreshment. By bringing people together beforehand, it choreographs expectation, framing the encounter before it formally begins.

Translated into a design context, Aperitivo describes a practice that privileges initiation over resolution and activation over completion. It frames design not as a solution-driven exercise but as a catalyst that prepares the conditions for human exchange. 

Rather than presenting outcomes, the objective is to stimulate attention, generating the appetite through which ideas can emerge, circulate and evolve collectively.

Selected designers

The selection brings together a group of practitioners whose work operates across different scales and positions within contemporary design: Tomás Alonso, Inma Bermúdez , Idoia Cuesta, Sara Regal, Lucas Muñoz, Attua Aparicio, Miguel Leiro and El Último Grito.

Talks

The talks are structured through a set of simple rules that reinforce the project’s curatorial intent: no digital support, the projects need to be presented only through physical materials, 30 minutes per designer and open, informal conversations. 

Brief

The objective was to create an event capable of hosting a series of talks over a two days event. Beyond accommodating an audience and facilitating conversation, the installation needed to be efficient to assemble and adaptable in use. The challenge, however, extended beyond logistics. The underlying question was: how can a proposal with such a short lifespan have the lowest possible environmental impact?

Starting point

The Stapleless project originated from the logic of the stapleless stapler, a simple yet precise mechanism that binds sheets of paper without the need for metal staples. Instead of adding an external element, the device cuts and folds the paper onto itself, creating a small interlocking tab held together through tension and friction. This principle was developed and patented by the Japanese company Kokuyo through its Harinacs stapler.

In 2025, this mechanism became the starting point for a self-initiated project developed in the studio: Stapleless, a mono-material collection of paper lamps constructed using this essential joining method. The collection explored how a two-dimensional material can be transformed into a three-dimensional volume without adhesives or additional components.

Installation

In this case, the Stapleless project shifted from object to space. After a rigorous study, the joining logic is scaled up into a spatial system, where sheets of paper form a series of self-supporting structures. A large paper table hosted the talks while a paper wall defined the perimeter, generating an intimate environment. Working exclusively with paper, the installation constructed both furniture and space through the same material and construction principle. After the event closed, the 400 sheets of paper were donated  to the World Design Capital organzation in order to be reused in future workshop and other activities from their programme.