A short stroll brings us to L’escola d’Upcyling Barcelona (upcyclingbarcelona.es, @upcyclingbarcelona), a collective of designers who use creative sewing to upcycle materials and reduce the waste generated by the fashion industry. Regular classes and workshops are available to learn how to bring new life to old garments.
Back in the EX30, I take a fresh look at the interior which features a range of recycled materials, which assists the car to be the most carbon-neutral of all Volvo’s models. There are four interior designs available, all inspired by the Scandinavian countryside – Breeze, Mist, Pine and Indigo – and they feature recycled denim, flax and wool, bringing both sustainability and a sense of Scandi design to every touch point.
With such an homage to creative design, it seems the perfect car to zip around the streets of Barcelona, and with skilful manoeuvring, we are quickly back on ground level. We glide past the avant-garde architecture of Antoni Gaudí’s La Sagrada Familia, which has been under construction since 1882 (or 1883 depending on who you ask), but opt to immerse ourselves in art that suits the feel of the EX30 – the playful and powerful street art scene. As we pull in, a fellow EX30 passes us and it’s hard not to smile at its bright Moss Yellow exterior that, despite being inspired by the lichen found on rocks on the Swedish west coast, looks equally natural in this urban environment.
