- The award-winning “La Aceleradora” and “SenseLine” take part in a round-table discussion on the journey and impact of their projects at the Madrid Design Festival 2026.
- “La Aceleradora” and “SenseLine” discuss the journey and impact of their projects during the round-table discussion.
- The award winners stand out for combining innovation, social impact and urban experience.
- MINI presents its new limited edition MINI x Paul Smith, a “love story” between the brand and the designer.
In the final week of Madrid Design Festival 2026, MINI has brought together the winners of the 6th MINI Design Award, “La Aceleradora” (Professional category) and “SenseLine” (New Talent category), for a round-table discussion focusing on the role of design as a tool for improving city life, from health and wellbeing to universal accessibility.
The event forms part of MINI’s participation as an official partner of the Madrid Design Festival 2026 and the brand’s renewed commitment to urban design and sustainability, at an event that transforms the city into a leading showcase for contemporary creativity and brings together professionals, institutions and brands around a wide-ranging programme of activities.
In this context, the brand has exclusively unveiled the new MINI x Paul Smith edition, a special collaboration where MINI’s iconic engineering meets the creative vision of one of the leading figures in contemporary British design.
Professional Category: a recognisable and welcoming therapeutic space
Before drawing the first line, Clara Murado and Juan Elvira explained that they wanted the ward to be a place where children could feel safe and see it as “recognisable as a toy”, and that it should convey a sense of care and stand out from the more austere hospital environment.
During the conversation, they also highlighted the project’s main challenges, including its aim to be a flexible system adaptable to different locations and other hospitals across Spain. Specifically in the case of La Paz, they wanted it to retain its own identity, with a presence strong enough to say “I’m here”, and even to bring a smile to people’s faces.
They also highlighted the collaborative aspect, as this project has required the coordination of many stakeholders, including patients, the foundation, and medical staff… and that is why they describe it as “a co-production of which they are very proud to be a part”.
La Aceleradora is the winning project in the MINI Design Award category, promoted by the Unoentrecienmil Foundation, designed to improve the well-being of patients during their paediatric oncology treatment.
New Talent Category: Designing with accessibility in mind to make the city work better
For her part, María Navarro shared the origins and motivation behind SenseLine and highlighted the key idea that accessibility is not an “extra”, but must be an approach that improves everyone’s daily life. In her words, small urban details can make a huge difference, and at some point in life, anyone might need a better-designed city.
At the roundtable, she explained that the biggest challenge was integrating technology into something as everyday as a pedestrian crossing, without creating obstacles and in an intuitive way. To solve this, she proposed an integrated platform beneath the tactile paving that communicates via vibration, conveying crossing information in an accessible way.
SenseLine is the winning project in the New Talents category of the MINI Design Award, a proposal that transforms the pedestrian crossing into an inclusive system that communicates via light and vibration, facilitating safe crossing for people who are blind, deafblind, visually impaired or have reduced mobility.
A commitment to urban design and creative talent
With this panel discussion, moderated by Pilar García de la Puebla, Head of Communications at the BMW Group, and through its participation once again in the Madrid Design Festival, MINI is reinforcing its commitment to promoting unique projects that bring together innovation, the city and a sense of purpose, and to shining a spotlight on the creative community – a community that is not widely known but which works on real solutions to improve the quality of life in urban environments.
Presentation of the new MINI x Paul Smith collection
Following the round-table discussion, there was also a presentation of the new MINI x Paul Smith edition, a collaboration that reaffirms the long-standing relationship between the brand and the British designer, described by Carlos Martínez Gil, director of MINI, as a “love story based on design” that began in 1998, when Paul Smith created a first limited edition of the model, reinterpreting a classic with a slight twist.
The launch, attended by brand ambassadors Raquel Sánchez Silva and Manu Campa, looked back at some of the milestones of this collaboration and its evolution in terms of reinterpretation and sustainability, with conceptual projects in 2021 and 2022. The new 2026 edition revisits this dialogue between MINI’s identity and Paul Smith’s creative vision, focusing on design details and personalisation.
About the BMW Group
With its four brands – BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad – the BMW Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of premium cars and motorcycles and also offers first-class financial services. The BMW Group’s production network comprises more than 30 production facilities worldwide; the company has a global sales network in over 140 countries.
In 2024, the BMW Group sold over 2.45 million passenger cars and more than 210,000 motorcycles worldwide. Profit before tax for the 2024 financial year was €11 billion, with revenue amounting to €142.4 billion. As at 31 December 2024, the BMW Group had a workforce of 159,104 employees.
The BMW Group’s economic success has always been based on a long-term vision and responsible action. Sustainability is a key element of the BMW Group’s corporate strategy and encompasses all products, from the supply chain and production through to the end of their useful life.
Source: BMW Press Club GROUP SPAIN