Escofet and MVRDV launch ‘Barcode Collection’, a new modular urban furniture system

Designed by architecture and urban design practice MVRDV in collaboration with Escofet, the collection comprises three core elements — ‘Tribune’, ‘Dune’ and ‘Desk’ — that can be combined in multiple ways to create a wide range of configurations in public space.

Escofet, Molins’ urban landscape business, launches ‘Barcode Collection’, a new urban furniture system designed by MVRDV. The collection was presented in Barcelona as part of Molins Talks, a series of conversations organised in connection with Barcelona World Capital of Architecture 2026. It is built around three core elements — ‘Tribune’, ‘Dune’ and ‘Desk’ — that can be combined to create anything from long linear arrangements to smaller islands within the urban landscape.

The collection brings modularity into the design of public space: a single family of elements can generate different configurations while maintaining a consistent visual identity. BARCODE is conceived not as a set of standalone products, but as an open system that can adapt to different contexts, bringing together furniture, planting, circulation and areas for people to gather and spend time within a single composition. MVRDV’s approach expands the role of urban furniture as a design tool, making it part of the wider process of shaping the contemporary urban landscape.

The system comprises three families of elements, each available in different versions. ‘Tribune’ takes the form of a broad sequence of steps that invites people to sit, climb and take in their surroundings. ‘Dune’ features a gently sloping surface designed for reclining and relaxing. ‘Desk’ combines a bench and table, creating a place to eat, work or talk.

Daniel Milà, Managing Director of Escofet, says: “This collaboration with MVRDV highlights the potential of design to transform public space and create new opportunities for people to meet and interact. With ‘Barcode Collection’, we have developed a modular and flexible system that gives architects and landscape designers multiple ways to configure a space while maintaining a strong and recognisable identity. The collection reflects our commitment to developing solutions that bring together innovation, functionality and design to serve people and cities.”

Jacob van Rijs, Founding Partner of MVRDV, recalls his first encounter with Escofet: “I first came across Escofet in 1998, when I was doing an architecture internship in Barcelona. Even then, I was impressed by the breadth of its collection and by its collaborations with architects whose work I admired. It is exciting, and an honour, to now be part of that story.”

The collection

BARCODE is a modular urban furniture system designed by MVRDV that uses three complementary elements — TRIBUNE, DUNE and DESK — to create different settings for sitting, gathering and engaging with the surrounding landscape. By combining, repeating and rotating the modules, the system can be adapted to the scale, uses and specific conditions of each project, from areas for rest and social interaction to larger compositions integrated into the urban landscape.

The system is based on a shared modular logic that allows elements with different geometries and functions to work together. TRIBUNE introduces a stepped configuration designed for sitting, gathering and observing the surroundings. It also incorporates a configurable tree pit that can be positioned on either side of the module, allowing it to respond to different site conditions. DUNE features a fluid, sculptural geometry that creates a seamless transition between seating, reclining and landscape, encouraging different ways of interacting with and using the space. DESK takes a monolithic approach, integrating a seat and table into a single architectural volume and extending the range of uses to eating, working and meeting.

A variety of elements, configurations and concrete finishes allows the system to respond to different urban settings and create compositions with distinct identities while retaining a common design language.

For Van Rijs, the collection also reflects a different approach to designing urban spaces: “All too often, public space design can become predictable: benches and other elements are selected from a catalogue and placed in the most obvious locations. This collection takes a different approach, putting people at the centre of the design through a creative interplay between the individual elements, the composition developed by the urban designer and the unexpected ways in which people will use them. With ‘Barcode Collection’, public space becomes the living room of the city.”

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