Outdoor spaces have ceased to be the threshold between architecture and garden and become places inhabited with the same intensity as the interior. Terraces, patios and gardens are today spaces of calm, of encounter and of prolonged enjoyment, and the light that defines them has acquired an equivalent demand: warmer, more precise, more conscious of the environment it illuminates..
Faro Barcelona responds to that demand in 2026 with three collections designed by Xavier Carrasquet that share a common orientation: outdoor luminaires with decorative intent and technical rigour, capable of generating characterful atmospheres without compromising visual comfort or the nocturnal ecosystem. Toba, Nara and Saga are pieces that understand light as a compositional material — warm, directed, contained — and the exterior as a space that deserves the same care as any interior room.
Toba: the string light that became a luminaire
String lights belong to the imagination of domestic exteriors: small lights suspended between trees or above a terrace that turn the night into celebration without greater pretension. Xavier Carrasquet took that everyday typology and asked what would happen if it were given the same attention as an architectural luminaire. The result is Toba, designed for Faro Barcelona.
Toba is formed by silicone discs of 18 cm in diameter — a flexible, resilient material conceived for outdoor use — that filter light through their layers. An internal opal diffuser distributes the illumination homogeneously, generating a warm light free of glare. IP65 protection guarantees its use in demanding environmental conditions. The form, a succession of stepped planes that widen downward, gives it a discreet and recognisable sculptural presence.
The discs are available in beige, terracotta and brown, three tones drawn directly from Mediterranean landscapes. Their function goes beyond the structural: they act as chromatic filters that subtly tint the emitted light. When several pieces of different colours are combined in a single composition, they recreate the gradation of the Mediterranean sunset — from vivid orange to the warm white of dusk. Suspended at different heights or aligned in sequence, they trace a gentle rhythm across the nocturnal landscape that accompanies architecture and vegetation without competing with them.
Toba works both as an individual suspended luminaire and in garland-type compositions, allowing lines of light to be drawn between trees, pergolas or architectural elements with the same freedom of installation as the original typology, but with a qualitatively different light quality. As the designer himself notes, the aim was to preserve the simplicity and freedom of the string light while transforming it into an object capable of integrating naturally into the outdoor landscape. Toba fulfils that purpose with economy of means and formal precision.
Saga: a bell of light with commanding presence
There is a formal economy in Saga that sets it apart within Faro Barcelona’s outdoor catalogue. The piece, designed by Carrasquet, is built around a large-format metal bell — exterior in beige, black, orange or oxide brown, interior in white — whose scale gives it a presence that is both commanding and resolved. There is no superfluous ornament; the form says everything.
The shade serves a dual function. On the outside it defines the volume and protects against environmental conditions with IP65 rating; on the inside, the white finish maximises reflection and directs light downward with precision, while an opal diffuser conceals the source and softens the beam to prevent glare. The result is a warm, concentrated illumination suited to uses that demand functional light: outdoor tables, exterior bars, circulation areas.
Saga allows individual installation — with ceiling rose or hook — and multiple compositions at varying heights, linking units to draw garlands of greater presence. That flexibility of mounting extends its field of application from the domestic setting to restaurants and hospitality. The aluminium bell is here both decorative object and luminous instrument, without one condition compromising the other.
Nara: the outdoor light that cares for the night
EThe extended use of outdoor spaces — terraces, gardens and patios — has brought to the exterior the same demands for comfort and warmth that define good interior lighting. Nara, designed by Xavier Carrasquet for Faro Barcelona, responds to that demand with a proposal that adds a dimension less common in decorative outdoor products: respect for natural darkness.
The piece is built around a rounded shade, wrapped by a linear pattern that acts as a structural steel cage. That enveloping framework projects a play of light and shadow that animates the surroundings without generating glare, and reveals the inner form — a PEMD opal diffuser — that distributes light in a homogeneous and contained manner. The ensemble carries the presence of a considered domestic object, without the utilitarian traits that typically characterise outdoor products.
The environmental dimension of Nara goes beyond visual comfort. The control of light dispersion offered by the opal diffuser limits light pollution and protects the nocturnal biodiversity of the surroundings, turning a formal design decision into a gesture of responsibility toward the ecosystem. Sustainable outdoor lighting resides not only in energy consumption, but also in how and where light is emitted.
The collection is presented in three versions — portable with cable, suspension and floor — that resolve different needs within a coherent formal language. The finishes in beige, oxide brown and black offer a chromatic range broad enough to suit diverse aesthetics, from the most neutral and organic to the most contrasted and contemporary.
Narita reinterprets the essence of Nara in a more compact format
Its shade, with an enveloping linear pattern, filters light and creates a play of light and shadow that transforms terraces and gardens into welcoming spaces full of character. It is manufactured in stainless steel for greater outdoor resilience. It can be installed as an individual luminaire with ceiling rose, or form part of a garland system with several units.
Xavier Carrasquet
Xavier Fernández Carrasquet was born in Barcelona, where he studied at Elisava and trained as a product designer. His early career took place at Benedito Design, Ramon Benedito’s studio, where he developed pieces for a wide range of sectors and came to understand design as a process of collective construction. A desire to deepen his knowledge of manufacturing processes led him to join Luxiona, where he collaborated on projects by Jean Nouvel and Toni Arola, and where lighting became the central axis of his practice.
In 2006 he took over as head of the Design Department at Lamp. Over more than a decade he transformed a distribution-oriented catalogue into a technical portfolio aimed at specification: more than twenty-five product families launched, numerous national and international nominations and awards, and the integration of LED as a significant technological transition. Between 2017 and 2019 he directed the Barcelona Creative Lab, a studio opened in the city by the multinational XAL, from which products such as Unico and Roomor for Wever & Ducré were brought to market.
Since 2019 he has worked independently, collaborating with companies such as Vibia, Lamp and Faro Barcelona, and with professionals including Maria Güell (La Invisible). His approach to design is explicitly collaborative: bringing together complementary skills to enrich every stage of the creative process. He has taught at Elisava since 2013, where he also serves as a thesis tutor for Master’s students. For Carrasquet, teaching and designing follow the same logic: learning together, with curiosity and emotion, as an indispensable condition of creativity.
Xavier Carrasquet
xavi@carrasquet.es
carrasquet.es
Project by Xavier Carrasquet
