What happens when design stops simply solving problems and starts questioning the rules that created them? That question hangs over interihotel Madrid 2026, which returns to IFEMA Madrid from 17 to 19 November with a declaration of intent that is difficult to ignore: Creative Rebellion.

The rebellion invoked by the event seems to have little to do with provocation for its own sake or breaking rules simply for the sake of it. Its proposition is far more interesting: to use creativity to reconsider some of the conventions upon which hotels and restaurants have been built over the past few decades.

At a time when the hospitality industry is facing technological, environmental, cultural and social transformations, interihotel MAD26 proposes three territories from which to imagine alternatives: people, sustainability and the future.

And to open the conversation, it has brought together three names from very different worlds: Stefan Sagmeister, Neri&Hu and Dani García.

Stefan Sagmeister and design that makes us feel

On 17 November, The Inside Rebellion will approach interior design through its most human dimension. Because a space can be functional, photogenic and impeccably executed and still fail to make us feel anything at all.

Enter Stefan Sagmeister, one of the most recognisable figures in contemporary design, whose career has long intertwined emotion, happiness, perception and visual communication.

His presence is particularly compelling at an event dedicated to hospitality. Hotels and restaurants are no longer simply places in which to sleep or eat; they have become settings where every decision — lighting, materials, sound, furniture or layout — shapes our perception of the experience.

interihotel MAD26 proposes three territories from which to imagine alternatives: people, sustainability and the future.

The day will also bring together perspectives from studios including Bruzkus Greenberg and Astet Studio, broadening the discussion around interior design’s capacity to transform our relationship with spaces.

Neri&Hu: sustainability beyond the green label

A day later comes The Green Rebellion, dedicated to one of the unavoidable debates in contemporary design: how to create more responsible spaces without turning sustainability into a collection of good intentions.

Architects Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu, founders of Neri&Hu, will be the keynote speakers for this second day. Their interdisciplinary approach, spanning architecture, interior design, design and cultural research, will provide a framework for examining the relationship between identity, context and sustainability.

The question is particularly relevant to the hotel industry. After years in which standardisation made it possible to reproduce similar experiences almost anywhere in the world, there is growing interest in projects capable of engaging with their context and building an identity of their own.

Joining Neri&Hu will be names including Billy Skelli-Cohen and Lucas Muñoz Muñoz, founder of Ex-Debris. Rather than simply asking which materials are sustainable, the day invites a broader question: how should we design today so that our spaces still make sense tomorrow?

Dani García and the restaurant as a creative laboratory

The final day, 19 November, will be titled The Future Rebellion and will shift the conversation towards innovation, creativity and new business models.

The protagonist will be Dani García, whose participation introduces an interesting perspective: that of a creator who understands gastronomy not simply through what is served on the plate, but as an experience built around the customer.

In response to standardisation, there is growing interest in projects capable of engaging with their context and building an identity of their own.

The chef will provide a starting point for examining the evolution of hotels and restaurants towards more flexible, experiential formats. It is a transformation in which architecture, interior design, gastronomy, technology, service and brand identity are becoming increasingly interconnected.

Also taking part will be Laura Vall, from Axel Hotels, and Luca Pronzato, founder and artistic director of We Are Ona, among other professionals.

And perhaps this is precisely where the concept of Creative Rebellion makes the most sense. Imagining the future of hospitality is not simply about introducing technology into spaces, but about reconsidering what we expect from them.

Chef Dani García will explore gastronomy as an experience built around the customer.

From showcase to laboratory

Interihotel MAD26 will occupy halls 1 and 3 at IFEMA Madrid and bring together 350 brands specialising in furniture, lighting, surfaces, textiles, materials, technology and equipment. But one of the most interesting aspects of this edition will take place beyond the traditional exhibition format: the Interiors Living Lab will transform part of the event into a space for experimentation.

Among its proposals will be the Concept Rooms, developed through collaborations with real operators. HBA will design a Concept Room together with Barceló Hotel Group, while Livit Design will develop a Concept Restaurant inspired by a new concept from Grupo Lamucca.

The idea makes it possible to observe design in context: not as a succession of independent objects, but as an ecosystem in which materials, furniture, lighting, technology and experience must work together.

Alongside this, Xperience Lab will explore the possibilities of Mixed Reality, Virtual Reality and generative AI within the processes of design, specification and commercialisation.

Materials, craftsmanship and artificial intelligence

Another new addition will be Materials Lab, an installation developed by AMBIT together with Matter Group that will trace the evolution of different materials and present innovative and sustainable solutions applied to the built environment.

In parallel, Craft Lab, curated by Tachy Mora, will turn its attention towards a territory that might appear to sit at the opposite end of the spectrum from technology: contemporary craftsmanship. Conceived as a hotel reception and lobby, it will focus particularly on ceramics and the value of craft as a means of bringing identity and authenticity to projects.

The coexistence of these two spaces is revealing, particularly because everything suggests that the future of interior design does not lie in choosing between craftsmanship and technology, but in discovering how the two can coexist.

The future of interior design does not lie in choosing between craftsmanship and technology, but in discovering how the two can coexist.

This dialogue will extend into the professional programme. Alongside the main conferences at Agora, the workshops at Atelier and the conversations at Lounge, the Forum space will address issues that are already reshaping design practice: new living models, circularity, industrialised construction, neuroarchitecture, wellbeing and artificial intelligence applied to interior design.

Where is hospitality design heading?

With more than 240 international speakers and an expected attendance of over 14,000 professionals, interihotel Madrid 2026 also serves as a useful barometer for observing where the sector is heading.

On the one hand, we are seeing sustainability increasingly examined through materials and processes; technology entering design studios and transforming their tools; neuroarchitecture studying our physical and emotional relationship with spaces; craftsmanship re-emerging as a response to homogenisation; and, finally, hotels and restaurants seeking experiences capable of creating deeper connections with the people who inhabit them. Which is why the real rebellion of this edition lies in asking ourselves why we design them the way we do.

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