The interior of the preexistent store consisted of two different rooms at different heights, united by a staircase, both accessible by the exterior, with entrances in two different streets. The room in Rua da Misericórdia was, for many years, used as a pharmacy, from which it inherited the wooden display cabinets that cover all the walls and the plaster ceilings adorned with geometrical and vegetable motifs. The proposal for this space was mostly based on the preservation and restoration of the existing structures, trying to enrich the preexistence and adapt it to its new circumstances. In the middle of the room, one single piece marks the intervention and defines the entire space: a polished brass counter that reflects the surroundings, allowing a fluid circulation and a free use of the space around it.
Claus Porto, Lisbon
Program: barber shop
Architect: João Mendes Ribeiro
Design team: Catarina Fortuna, Joana Brandão, Ana Maria Feijão, Filipe Catarino, Pedro Teixeira
Art Installation and window display: Joana Astolfi
Art Direction: Anne-Margreet Honing
Engineering: Raul Serafim & Associados
Contractor: Cosmaral
Area: 85 sqm
Completion: 2016