Rafael Marquina

Recognized by his revolutionary non-drip oil and vinegar cruet design, Rafael Marquina was awarded the Golden Delta (ADI-FAD) for the best industrial design in 1961.

Rafael Marquina (Madrid 1921 - Barcelona 2013) was a designer and architect based in Barcelona. He earned widespread recognition with his revolutionary non-drip oil and vinegar cruet design, for which he awarded the Golden Delta (ADI-FAD) for the best industrial design in 1961. He had previously combined interior design work with furniture design and collaborations with the office of architects Moragas and Gallisá. He later worked with Josep Lluís Sert and also designed household appliances for Fagor.

Rafael Marquina's non-drip oil cruets (1961) are part of the history of industrial design, and indeed of everyday life in many homes. In 2018, nanimarquina started producing and distributing them worldwide, guaranteeing their authenticity, respecting the proportions of the original design and including the author's signature on their base.

Considered one of the pioneers of Spanish industrial design, Marquina's was a prodigious and lengthy career. Among other commissions, he was head of design for Talleres Costa between 1957 and 1958, planned the refurbishment of J.M. Sert's Roca jewellery shop in 1969, was in charge of the new exterior and interior design of Banco Bilbao on Barcelona's Via Laietana, and made a centrepiece for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He also created two candelabras for nanimarquina in 1993, anti-drip stoppers for HOJIBLANCA OLEO CRISTAL oil bottles (2003) and two floor lamps for ILUMINIL SA. The trajectory of Marquina, winner of the National Design Award and the Creu de Sant Jordi (St. George's Cross) in 2012, evidences his ability to work in very diverse spheres of the world of design.

Marquina also ventured into journalistic collaborations with Serra D'Or, M+D Editores, Hogares Modernos, Cuadernos de Arquitectura and Bonart. He was also an accomplished sculptor, and his work was shown in a number of exhibitions.