NEW in Lisbon

Banema Studio

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Hello, design junkies!

The other day we stopped by an amazing concept store in Lisbon, and we want to tell you all about it. Prepare yourself’s for a store dedicated to architecture and design full of innovation and creativity.

Banema, one of the most important Portuguese companies in wood products and derivatives, has decided to open its first Banema Studio, in the Portuguese capital. It is based at 27 Rua Coelho da Rocha in Campo de Ourique, one of Lisbon’s most vibrant and emblematic neighborhoods. On the same premises can be found Banema Lab, an ideas laboratory that focuses on the origins of the brand founded in 1964.

Similar in content but different in form, the concept of the new Banema Studio and Banema Lab follows the path developed in Porto, even though the way in which the space is interpreted and appropriated in Lisbon is completely different from the former.

The interior design by the architect Pedro Campos Costa breaks with expectations and symbiotically combines two concepts that are essentially opposed.

The shop, covering almost 300m2 spread over a single floor, is traversed via two large structures that in themselves form the space. While to the right Banema Lab is linear and objective in appearance, Banema Studio in contrast is sinuous in form, allowing time to pause and contemplate the pieces exhibited from the entrance to the exit. The unexpected and unusual structure of decorative panels of green melamine and acrylic stone – both by brands distributed by Banema – takes the form of an extensive and versatile piece of exhibition and storage furniture which chiefly delineates the space and creates walk through and/or stopping areas.

Photography by Francisco Nogueira

The depth, volumes, imposing colors and interplay of light and shadow reveal architect Pedro Campos Costa’s irreverent proposal for the new Lisbon concept store. The project essentially aims to create a multidisciplinary lab, a place for sharing ideas and a space for relaxing, drinking tea, coffee, and discover works by designers, artisans, artists and products from different areas and origins. Banema Studio presents design excellence though objects that combine formal balance with the finest materials in a contemporary and sophisticated ambience that also manages to be inviting. The timelessly beautiful pieces are able to transform spaces and produce unique sensations.

This is a singular project in which the selection of each brand – some presented for the first time in Portugal – object, book, aroma, fabric and artwork requires detailed curatorship and research. It also involves a vision that constantly tracks new trends and the best products made in Portugal and around the world in the areas of accessories, art, design, fragrances, lighting, lifestyle and furniture.

Photography by Francisco Nogueira

The brands featured include Alguidar Knit, Lemur, Travelers Company, Hay, Apolis, Ferm Living, Ramos Cerâmica, Barbudo Aborrecido, Bisar-ro, Vicara, Design House Stockholm, Christian Haas, Haeckels, Hibi, Apotheke Fragrance, Onno, Earl of East, Davide Groppi, The School of Life, Revo, Vicara, Menu, Foekje Fleur, Paralela, Slowdown Studio, Ges-talten and Magis, Maison Louis Marie, Papelote, a collection of objects designed by the architects Álvaro Siza Vieira and Eduardo Souto Moura and Portugal Manual’s capsule collections — available exclusively at Banema Studio stores — among others, can now be discovered by visiting Banema Studio.

Whether in memory or not of the project that was previously housed in this space, or to mirror its close relations to the world of visual arts that has always been a feature of its activities in Porto, the Lisbon shop will house the Banema Gallery. The concept is simple yet ambitious: to set up a space – a window display not much larger than 1.5sqm in size – where any object, be it a pencil, a wallet, a tapestry or even a perfume or a candle, is honoured as if it were an artwork.

Now, more than ever, quality, irreverence and originality will be essential for everyone involved in the project. Banema Studio will also organise a discerning and eclectic set of cultural activities which, like in Porto, will have an integrated and continuous programme curated by O Apartamen-to. Workshops, exhibitions, concerts, conversations and even temporary shops in partnership with other brands and projects will be an integral part of the new agenda for this space, which will be inaugurated on 2 December with a pop-up store by the German publisher Gestalten.

Banema Lab

Created in Porto in 2016 – and in Lisbon in 2020 – the Banema Lab concept arose as a means to respond not just to the very specific needs of architects and interior designers but also to establish a closer relationship with the end customer. It is a creative laboratory supported by a huge library of materials from different and selected origins where inspiration and creativity coexist side by side and the products combine design, innovation, sustainability and wellbeing.

Banema Lab’s chief mission is to contribute to closer contacts between technical and creative experts and the general public to discover materials and new possibilities for their use and application. With the support of a knowledgeable and experienced team, and a portfolio rich in ideas and materials, the raison d’être of this space is essentially to find solutions for unique architectural and design projects.

While Studio is a place to linger and discover special objects, Lab will be a vehicle to inform architects, interior designers, students and other professional and private clients about products and materials for use in interiors, construction and rehabilitation, in addition to commercial aspects, training, seminars and conferences.

At Banema Lab’s library, which highlights some of the world’s largest brands in the sector, inlcuding Cleaf, LG Hi-Macs, Zwarthout, Querkus and Shinnoki, Accoya, Lunawood, Concrete LCDA, Oberflex, creativity will be the only limit.

If you enjoyed this article, you should check out our article about a concept interior design by Anastasiya Korpaleva.