Etel sets its Brazilian roots down in a new organic Milan flagship

A new European flagship store in Milan
Brazilian furniture company Etel has opened a new European flagship store in Milan
(Image credit: press)

When Etel decided to open its European flagship in Milan, they wanted to reflect the palimpsest of the city today – a place enriched with tradition, innovation and style. Collaborating with Como-based architecture firm Superluna, a triad of Italian architects whose cumulative work traverse four continents, Etel chose a former gallery in the Maroncelli district, a neighbourhood where classic boutiques and independent shops rub shoulders with Italy’s most innovative architectural endeavours, like the Bosco Verticale and the Unicredit Tower.

With a goal of creating a conceptual meeting point between Brazilian and Italian culture and design, Superluna stripped the detritus decor of the two-level gallery space and removed extraneous walls, transforming the space into a white-washed surface, with original symmetry and ornaments beccoming a canvas. And from there, Etel would grow. Literally.

Lissa Carmona and the Superluna team at the new Etel Milan flagship

(Image credit: press)

Lissa Carmona and the Superluna team at the new Etel Milan flagship

Centrepiece at the two-level gallery is an undulating wooden screen, hand-made and designed by Etel founder Etel Carmona, that is deliberately reminiscent of a tree trunk. The trunk cuts the centre of the showroom physically and figuratively, from its visual impact as the most organic element in the space to its functional aspect as a hidden staircase, bringing you into the space and inside the world of Etel. ‘Since the tree is the heart of Etel Design, we wanted to give the feeling that we planted one right here,’ says Superluna’s Luca Sartori.

Divided into two almost equal sections, Etel’s ground floor is an exhibition area – a modern salon where curated pieces by historic modernist designers like Oscar Niemeyer and Isay Weinfeld, as well as Etel’s own creations are in constant dialogue with contemporary art exhibitions. Case in point: the current photo show by Ruy Teixeira and upcoming Véio exhibition, both highlight a harmony with the different pieces and history between them. Upstairs, the mezzanine level is a more cinematic experience, in fact, it’s more than a showroom, it’s a living space, work area and library.

Etel is all about organic growth. What you see today will transform into another ‘situation,’ Sartori explains of the coming months. ‘It’s all about the celebration of the human level of design and its relationship with organic materials, a continuous evolution.’

Split over two floors, the ground floor acts as an exhibition space of its collections

Split over two floors, the ground floor acts as an exhibition space of its collections

(Image credit: press)

Wooden screen that acts as a hidden staircase

The space features an undulating wooden screen that acts as a hidden staircase that cuts through the building’s two floors

(Image credit: press)

Etel’s own creations

Etel’s own creations are in constant dialogue with contemporary art exhibitions in the space

(Image credit: press)

Work area and library

Whilst a showroom in its function, the second floor also feels like a living space, work area and library

(Image credit: press)

The conceptual meeting point of Brazilian and Italian culture and design

Superluna’s overarching goal was to create the conceptual meeting point of Brazilian and Italian culture and design

(Image credit: press)

The living space partition of the second floor

The living space partition of the second floor

(Image credit: press)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Etel Design website

ADDRESS

Etel Design
Via Pietro Maroncelli, 13
Milano
20154

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