Nacho Carbonell and experimental design take over MAXXI’s entrance

A new chapter in contemporary design opens at MAXXI in Rome, where Spanish visionary Nacho Carbonell unveils Memory, in practice as part of the museum’s ambitious experimental design initiative. Running from May 30th, 2025, to January 7th, 2026, the exhibition transforms the entrance hall into a space of imagination, interaction, and collective reflection.

A design program that reimagines the museum threshold

The project marks the launch of ENTRATE, a multi-year design programme that reimagines MAXXI’s lobby as more than just a passageway. Curated by Martina Muzi and directed by the Department of Architecture and Contemporary Design, the initiative positions the museum as Italy’s first institution to formally collect and showcase cutting-edge contemporary design.

ENTRATE turns the entrance hall into an active threshold: a porous zone that connects the urban exterior with the galleries inside, encouraging visitors to pause, engage, and inhabit design in real time. Each edition of the programme invites internationally recognized designers to create site-specific installations that merge research, storytelling, and material experimentation.

Nacho Carbonell: memory as a design tool

For the inaugural edition, Nacho Carbonell—a Spanish designer based in Eindhoven, known for his poetic use of natural materials and hands-on techniques—has conceived a monumental, seven-meter-tall tree at the heart of the MAXXI entrance. The structure, wrapped in lights and fishing-net foliage, generates a sheltered environment beneath its branches. Within this inhabitable landscape, visitors are invited to sit, linger, and interact with furniture and objects that complete the installation.

At the core of Carbonell’s practice lies a profound engagement with memory. His creative process draws on the landscapes of his childhood in Valencia, blending nature and artifice, handcraft and industrial process. For him, memory is not a static archive but a living resource—one that can be deconstructed, reconstructed, and continually regenerated. Through this approach, personal recollections evolve into shared experiences, expanding individual memory into collective narrative.

Experimental design rooted in nature and intimacy

Memory, in practice is both an architectural and emotional landscape. It evokes the gardens and seascapes of Carbonell’s youth while using materials that channel remembrance, translated through his unique experimental design methods. The result is a multisensory installation where objects function not only as utilitarian pieces but also as vessels of memory and imagination.

Step inside the imaginative world of Nacho Carbonell, where sculpture and design merge into living forms. In our interview, he reflects on his Evolution project, the inspirations shaping his tactile process, and the identity woven into each creation.