It has happened to all of us when we enter a space and immediately feel a connection with the place. It’s not just our eyes that are fascinated, it’s the emotions that the environment awakens, the stories it tells us, the memories it evokes in us. And all this happens with a purpose: more and more public spaces, like hotels, restaurants or shops, want to provide the best experience to their customers by creating places with a unique identity, where people want to be, where their experience has meaning and can be shared with others. And for that to happen, interior design thought out and executed by professionals takes on a primary importance in creating spaces that can be called “places”.
This is what Gracinha Viterbo, from the atelier Viterbo Interior Design says when she states that “the client increasingly values detail” and “attention must be paid to lighting, texture, colour and scale, as factors that contribute to creating a sense of place”, since “the experience of place is required and understandable in an age where mental health and well-being are increasingly valued”. The designer says that for many years, especially in the post-war period, interior design was “based on the idea that form follows function” and, “as a result, design was no longer about emotions or aesthetics, but about functionality. Today we are going back to the power of emotions, experiences and how to live a space with all the senses.”
Gracinha Viterbo also adds that “modern interior design is mainly concerned with its relationship with the physical world” and beyond its aesthetic and functional role, it is an “important element in the way we live, work and interact with the world”.
Cláudia and Catarina Soares Pereira, founders of the Casa do Passadiço atelier, talk about the relationship of balance that they imprint in all their projects, in which “comfort, elegance, quality and functionality are always allied”, as “fundamental elements” in the selection of “materials that are the starting point for the creation of an identity in space”. In the conception of their projects, the decorators are always aware that “interior decoration must adapt to changes in the way of life”.
This is also the idea transmitted to us by the architectural duo of Oitoemponto, Artur Miranda and Jacques Bec, when they point out that “each of their creations is the result of long hours of consultation during which styles, habits and tastes are analysed in order to respect them as far as possible and meet the clients’ needs and desires”.
SIGNATURE SPACES
In this need of those looking to launch or expand a successful business there is today a search for unique and authentic places in which each concept is a narrative that traces an identity. “Increasingly, clients who come to us want a professional signature, like someone who invests in a work of art, because they understand the artistic value that a personalised project adds to the physical and emotional experience,” explains Gracinha Viterbo, for whom modern interior design can be “defined as a synthesis between art, architecture, design, lifestyle and culture.”
This idea is shared by Joana Astolfi, who, when asked how she defines herself – architect, designer or artist – says she affirms herself as “an artist with a gift for telling stories through objects and places.” With a language all her own, her “narratives” are clearly identified in Hermès shop windows, José Avillez restaurants, Claus Porto, André Opticas or the Fashion and Textiles Museum, recently opened in Gaia.
EVOKING HISTORY AND CULTURE
In creating a unique identity for the spaces there is also a concern with “belonging” to the place in which they are inserted or the historical reference, respect and appreciation of historical and cultural heritage. This is what happened in the renovation of the Ritz Four Seasons Hotel Lisboa by Oitoemponto, where the duo made a point of “returning history to the space, more than imposing their signature.” “We acted with enormous respect and care,” and “the result is the perfect balance between evocation of the past and contemporary lifestyle,” the architects stress. “In most projects we invent a story, here we have extended a story.”
The historical and cultural references, along with customization, are also making the standardized identity of brands more flexible, whether in hotel chains, shops or restaurants. It is this trend that Casa do Passadiço tells us about as it discusses the projects carried out for the renowned Italian shoe brand Aquazzura in various points around the globe, including Florence, London, Milan, Paris, São Paulo, Dubai, Qatar and New York. “In each of the projects we sought inspiration from the place and culture where the space is inserted, adapting the materials, finishes and shades and always paying special attention to details,” say the founders of the atelier. “All the brand’s shops are different, but they all have a common language with their own identification”, they stress.
PLACES OF SHARING
Today, more than things, we “collect” experiences. And these spaces are the ideal place to share them, creating unforgettable memories. In the digital era, the choice of a hotel, the entrance to a shop or the preference for a particular restaurant is motivated by social networks, where influencers play a decisive role.
In Gracinha Viterbo’s opinion, “the use of design, combined with the rise of technology, has changed the way we live. Living is increasingly turning inwards, towards what makes us feel a space and this has paved the way for impressive innovations in the way we develop a project and its final result.” That’s why, when designing spaces, there are features that are designed with the recording and sharing of moments through images in mind, and the potential that these can have in customers’ decisions. And the more “Instagrammable” a place is, with perfect sceneries and propitious to the sharing of inspiring photos, the greater the probability of its success.
