Portugal's Lisbon by Design "attracts young people to careers in craftsmanship"

The fifth edition of collectible design fair Lisbon by Design in Portugal showcased works by emerging designers, including translucent onyx lamps and furniture informed by wine barrels.

Located in the 19th-century Gomes Freire palace in central Lisbon, the event featured pieces by 28 designers. While some were Portuguese and others international, all the works on show were produced in Portugal.

Curator and Lisbon by Design founder Julie de Halleux said the fair is an opportunity for young designers to explore and bring new life into the traditional craftsmanship Portugal is known for.

"It attracts newcomers and most of the artists are young," she told Dezeen. "And with that kind of platform, they can sell."

"It attracts young people to careers in the design of craftsmanship."

According to the curator, a number of designers who took part in previous years have gone on to make a name for themselves and work with large design companies.

"What I like to do is discover those young talents," De Halleux said.

Alongside the fair, De Halleux has also begun to organise events throughout the year to allow people to visit artists' studios, and hopes to also branch out into pop-ups.

Among the designers taking part this year Lisbon by Design was Porto-based architect Diogo Amaro, whose seating and tables – on show on the first floor of the palace – were made from French oak normally used to make barrels for the city's port wine.

Amaro, whose workshop is based next to an old barrel maker, said not just the material but also the form of the products references the traditional barrels.

"The signature of the barrel maker who used to work there was this really fat and wide barrel," he told Dezeen. "I wanted to somehow pay tribute to this and work with these really voluptuous silhouettes."

Many of the participants at Lisbon by Design shared a room with another designer, with some of them working together to create a joint piece.

Amaro collaborated with designer Carla Caplin of embroidery brand Odísséía, with whom he shared the space, on a room divider for which he made the wood and she made the textile.

"This room divider and the curtains were the biggest project I've ever done – it was weeks of work," Caplin told Dezeen.

Nearby, ceramicists Clotilde de Kersauson and Margaux Carel shared a room with textile artist Ana Rita de Arruda, who created a central installation made from textile that resembled a natural rock formation.

Complemented by flowers from local floral design studio Petit Bouquet, the room also featured ceramic sculptures on carved wooden plinths, creating the feel of a ruined temple.

"We wanted to create something a bit magical; the idea for us was to create a room where it felt like nature had taken over," the designers told Dezeen.

Also showing on the first floor was João Passanha of architecture studio Estadobruto, who showcased lamps made from travertine and onyx. Despite being made from stone, the lamps appeared almost translucent when lit.

The studio makes them from stone blocks too small to use for architecture projects.

"We said: why not do something with these blocks?" Passanha told Dezeen. "It's kind of a waste, and the material is so beautiful."

Among the sculptural designs on show were Portuguese studio Grau Ceramica's playful ceramic installations and lamps informed by futuristic, utopian cities, as well as designer Jacek Jan Jaskola's brutalist site-specific lighting designs made from natural materials.

The material focus was front and centre for many of the designers, who worked in mono-materials to create simple yet eye-catching pieces, such as Baptiste da Silva's cork seats and shelving, and Zoé Wolker's monolithic steel coffee table.

Lisbon by Design also opened up its garden for the first time in the five years since it launched, allowing residency and creative studio Omarcity World to showcase seating and tables made by its designers in residence.

In the staircase of Gomes Freire palace, Antwerp and Lisbon-based ADU Studios showed its Moon Lamps – "light sculptures" that illuminate in phase with the moon – while designer Tomek Sadurski's textile paintings decorated the high-ceilinged staircase.

Lisbon by Design also showcased pieces by designers Amande Haeghen, Barbara Portailler, Barro, De La Espada, Lava Earth Objects, Rosana Sousa, Superchi, Burel Factory, Blackcork, Mariana Ralo, Tiago Moura, Paul Boucher and Studio Éeme.

Elsewhere in Lisbon, architect Kengo Kuma recently added a swooping canopy to art museum the Gulbenkian and Post Company and Lázaro Rosa-Violàn turned a convent into a boutique hotel.

The photography is by Claudia Rocha.

Lisbon by Design took place from 21 to 25 May at Gomes Freire Palace, Rua Gomes Freire 98, Lisbon, Portugal. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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