Jam Hotel Lisbon is a showcase of circularity and craft

At first, Lisbon’s new Jam Hotel looks too raw to be finished, but on closer inspection, it is the circularity-focused backdrop to an eclectic collection of upcycled art and design. The project is the brainchild of interior architect and Zaventem Ateliers founder Lionel Jadot, who was given carte blanche by Jam brand operator Jean-Paul Pütz to completely transform a drab and derelict Lisbon office block into a celebration of the city’s burgeoning art scene.

Jam Hotel is a showcase of circularity and craft

Jadot’s response was to handpick different design studios and local artists to contribute to a unique space, showcasing collectible designs compatible with the OpenStructures modular grid.

Among the locally sourced building materials are cork wall and ceiling cladding from near Barrosinha, a rural estate just south of Lisbon, where Romanian designer Mircea Anghel’s Cabana Studio is based. Anghel, a disciple of George Nakashima, set to work with 13 craftsmen, transforming burnt eucalyptus wood to build modular bunk beds that create four- and five-person options among the hotel’s 100 rooms. Meanwhile, Porto-based Flowco produced eco-tile headboards made from recycled shoe soles.

Jadot says that during the five years that the hotel was in the making, including through the pandemic, the property was like a stranded vessel on the banks of the Tagus, which he refitted with a ‘rolled-up-sleeves, hands-on approach’.

Around the hotel lobby, moulded concrete chairs and daybeds by Ivan Daniel Cova complement murals by Brazilian artist Ylana Yaari. Signature tiles, inside and out, by Pieter Van Bruysse (of Grond studio) deploy lime plaster, cork waste and terracotta clays.

Perhaps the hotel’s pièce de résistance is the Cabana rooftop lounge bar crowned with an elongated swimming pool lined with Bela Silva’s hand-painted tiles. The space is enhanced by handwoven plastic Tucurinca furniture by Omarcity, wooden ping-pong tables, and ceramic mask sculptures by artist duo Mon Colonel Spit.

Rising star chef Mauro Airosa heads up gourmet fusion at Mojjo restaurant, which is furnished with bespoke chairs by Emmanuel Babled studio in collaboration with Jisamwe, alongside solid-cut marble blocks rescued from a nearby quarry.

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