Designing is seeing life through a magnifying glass. Goodbye to Miguel Milá

Miguel Milá (Barcelona, 1931), a pioneer of design in our country, and author of emblematic pieces such as the TMC and TMM lamps or the Cesta lamp, died this Monday at the age of 93, in Bilbao, while he was on holiday with his daughter Micaela and his grandson José, according to Mercedes Milá, the deceased's niece.

National Design Award (1987) and Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts (2016), or Compasso d'Oro Internazionale in 2008, Milá was born into a family of the upper bourgeoisie of Barcelona related to artistic circles: his brother Leopoldo was also a well-known representative of industrial design in our country and his uncle Pedro Milá Camps was the one who commissioned Antoni Gaudí to build the famous Casa Milá, known as La Pedrera.

Miguel Milà joking around next to one of his lamps. Image courtesy of Santa & Cole.

With more than seven decades dedicated to the profession, Milá was an icon of Spanish design and its modernity. He always remained active, as demonstrated by an interesting retrospective exhibition, «Miguel Milá I (Pre)industrial Designer», the most important exhibition held in Spain on his figure, in the Sala Fernán Gómez of the Centro Cultural de la Villa, Madrid, 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.

Croquis de la lámpara TMM, 1961, Miguel Millá.

Sketch of the TMM lamp, 1961, Miguel Millá.

His most brilliant designs were lamps, such as the TMC (1958) and TMM (1961) created in Tramo, followed by others such as the Cesta lamp (1964) and the M68 (1968). Among his most recent designs, the door handle for FSB, the Túmbalo ashtray and umbrella stand, the NeoRomántico Clásico bench, the NeoRomántico Liviano or the Neocombo deserve special mention.

In 1960, Milá was one of the founders of the industrial design section of the Foment de les Arts Decoratives (Adi-Fad) together with names such as André Ricard, Antonio de Moragas, Oriol Bohigas or Rafael Marquina. His career has been associated since the 1980s with the firm Santa & Cole, which still keeps the lamps in its catalogue.

Milá 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 Miguel Milá Collection, 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.

TMM lamp, 1961, Miguel Millá. Santa & Cole.

Cesta lamp, 1962, Miguel Millá. Santa & Cole.

Miguel Milá, conjunto de piezas en exposición en el teatro Fernán Gómez. Centro Cultural de la Villa.

«Miguel Milá I Diseñador (pre)industrial» exhibition, Madrid Design Festival 2024. Photograph by Mercedes Peláez, courtesy of Santa & Cole

View more images

Metalocus recommends

HYPHEN by Giona Bierens de Haan Architectures + Leopold Banchini Architects. Photograph by Dylan Perrenoud

Continuous Monument. HYPHEN by Giona Bierens de Haan Architectures + Leopold Banchini Architects

22 November Market by RZERO estudio. Photograph by Zaickz Moz

A new market for the community. 22 November Market by RZERO estudio

Children's Hospice "House for Julia" by ČTYŘSTĚN. Photograph by Alex Shoots Buildings

Refuge of peace and familiarity. Children's Hospice "House for Julia" by ČTYŘSTĚN

Miguel Milá

Miquel Milá. (Barcelona, February 7th 1931 - Bilbao, 12 de agosto de 2024) Born into a Barcelona bourgeois family connected to artistic circles (his uncle Pedro Milá Camps commissioned Gaudí to design the famous Casa Milá, known as La Pedrera), Miguel Milá began working as an interior designer in the family studio that his brother Alfonso Milá shared with Federico Correa. These were the 1950s, a time of self-sufficiency and constant crisis when little was known about industrial design.

He began studying architecture, which he abandoned in 1955, although his world was always linked to architect friends. He began his career as an interior designer in the studio that his brother Alfonso had founded with Federico Correa. Two years later he founded his studio, Trabajos Molestos or TRAMO, together with his two architect friends, Francisco Ribas Barangé and Eduardo Pérez Ulibarri, a company focused on the design and production of interior furniture. The first versions of the TMC lamp (1958) and the TMM lamp (1961) were created there, two timeless classics that continue to influence generations of the present. At the beginning of the 21st century, Milá founded his interior design studio, taking great care of his processes and perfecting his technique: “I am actually a pre-industrial designer. I feel more comfortable with those technical procedures that allow me to correct errors, experiment during the process and control it as much as possible. Hence my preference for noble materials, which know how to age.”

Outside the studio, Miguel Milá participated in meetings with architects and designers where he discussed the aesthetics and architectural modernity of the city of Barcelona. The first industrial design association in Spain, ADI-FAD, was born as a result of these conversations and was founded together with André Ricard, Antonio de Moragas, Oriol Bohigas and Rafael Marquina, among others. Since its creation, the group has been dedicated to spreading Spanish design abroad and Miguel Milá became president between 1974 and 1984.

Miguel Milá defines his creative style as a craft process, based on "having an idea and removing what is superfluous." This was the case with the Cesta lamp (1964) and its subsequent family made up of several table lamps, such as Cestita or Alubat and several pendant lamps such as Globo Cesta. "A lamp is off more than it is on, so you have to take great care of its shape so that it contributes to the space in the most exciting way possible" stated Milá. The Barcelona native was also a teacher for 14 years, teaching at the renowned design schools in Barcelona, ELISAVA and EINA.

His career has been associated since the 1980s with the firm Santa & Cole, which still stocks his lamps.

He was awarded the first edition of the National Design Award, ex aequo with André Ricard, National Design Award (1987), Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts (2016), or Compasso d´Oro Internazionale in 2008 from the Italian ADI in recognition of his professional career and his contribution to the dissemination of Spanish design abroad.