From November 17 to 19, 2026, interihotel MAD26 will bring together architects, interior designers, hospitality operators, and specialized brands at IFEMA Madrid. Organized by AMBIT Living Spaces Cluster, the event is expected to welcome more than 14,000 professionals, 350 exhibiting brands, and over 200 international speakers. Under the theme Creative Rebellion, it will combine talks, workshops, five specialized forums, and full-scale experimental spaces to explore new approaches to hotel and restaurant design.

As many spaces increasingly resemble one another, Creative Rebellion champions creativity and optimism as tools for imagining hospitality with a distinctive identity. It invites professionals to reconsider how spaces connect with people and place, how materials are selected, and what possibilities new technologies offer.

The Inside Rebellion, on November 17, will examine identity, emotion and experience. Stefan Sagmeister, Nini Andrade Silva, Bruzkus Greenberg, and Astet Studio will share their perspectives, alongside sessions on lighting and workshops focused on color, floral art, and ceramics in architecture.

Neri&Hu. Image Courtesy of Jiaxi Yang & Zhu Zhe

The Green Rebellion, on November 18, will address sustainability, circularity, and well-being. Participants will include Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu, co-founders of Neri&Hu, alongside Lucas Muñoz Muñoz, Studio Animal, Beaumier, and Rockwell Group. The programme will explore material recovery, spatial flexibility, and the relationship between lighting and health.

The Future Rebellion, on November 19, will highlight innovation, creativity, and new business models. Dani García, the day's keynote speaker, will open the discussion on reinventing the guest experience. Other participants will be Laura Vall of Axel Hotels; Luca Pronzato, founder and artistic director of We Are Ona; and Kike Sarasola of Room Mate Hotels.

Five specialized forums will address challenges in designing and developing spaces. Future Living will explore new accommodation models; Circular Spaces, the transformation of existing spaces and resources; WellSpaces, neuroarchitecture and evidence-based design; Hospitality Building Systems, industrialized construction; and AI Interiors, artificial intelligence in architecture and interior design.

Tom Dixon at interihotel BCN25. Image Courtesy of Brava

Featuring participants such as Bill Browning, Jana Crepon of Inside Outside, Jorge Alonso Rodríguez of Chapman Taylor, and Tim Fu, these forums will connect research, design, investment, and operations through shared tools and experiences.

Interiors Living Lab will translate these ideas into spaces that visitors can experience firsthand. The Sensory Explorer Concept Room, designed by HBA and inspired by Barceló Hotel Group, will present The Dome: Earth, Light and Memory, a hotel room that interprets Tunisia's identity through geometry, light and materiality.

The Social Playful Concept Restaurant, designed by Livit and inspired by Lamucca, will propose a flexible restaurant where different rhythms coexist: eating, working, meeting or lingering after a meal.

interihotel BCN25's Lounge. Image Courtesy of Brava

Materials Lab will feature two installations: Materials by AMBIT Cluster, a selection of innovative and sustainable materials contributed by exhibiting brands; and Materialidad adaptable, an exhibition conceived by MATTER exploring the evolution of six material families.

Craft Lab, curated by Tachy Mora, will explore contemporary ceramics through eight makers and brands, demonstrating how craftsmanship, memory, and local context can bring identity to hotel and restaurant design.

The Sensory Explorer Concept Room. Image Courtesy of HBA

Xperience Lab will offer hands-on experiences with tools for designing in Virtual and Mixed Reality, co-creating with an AI agent, visualizing projects in Augmented Reality, and configuring industrialized building modules.

The exhibition will showcase furniture, lighting, materials, textiles, and equipment, encouraging dialogue between those who design, manufacture, and operate spaces. Alongside the event, interi-off will extend activities throughout Madrid from November 16 to 20, with visits, installations, talks, workshops, and networking events.

interihotel BCN25's common spaces. Image Courtesy of Brava

interihotel MAD26 offers three days to challenge conventions, experiment, and discover new ways of designing hotels and restaurants. Admission is reserved for practising professionals in the sector. Discover the visitor information and register to attend.

Cite: "Creative Rebellion: Design, Knowledge and Experimentation at interihotel MAD26" 21 Oct 2026. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1186753/creative-rebellion-design-knowledge-and-experimentation-at-interihotel-mad26> ISSN 0719-8884