Sam Baron, designer, on Portugal's young creative talent and must-see design spots of Lisbon.
As our team is preparing the second edition of Lisbon Design Week, we are eager to introduce you to our Advisory Board members. This is the first in a series of conversations in which we invite each member to share their top 3 emerging talents and favourite design spots of Lisbon.
Sam, can you recommend three young creatives to watch in Portugal in 2024?
Gonçalo Campos, an emerging product designer with a rigorous design expertise and international clients.
Silvia Matias, a graphic designer who has been working on the local market with a very fresh attitude.
Lavandaria, a silkscreen and hand printed artefacts studio who is collaborating with galleries and international illustrators beside their own production.
What are you three favourite venues in terms of architecture and design in Lisbon?
Depozito store, where vernacular Portuguese design meets the contemporary local production.
The basket exhibition at Museu de Arte Popular by Passa ao futuro, as a great example of showing local roots and potential future projections of a very humble and specific knowhow that tells a lot about a territory.
I also love the path along the Tagus river from Cais do Sodre to Maat Museum as it is a mix of different city aspects in terms of facades, graphics, and buildings and with several cafés that offer nice stops with a river view.
Finally, Trienal De Arquitectura De Lisboa, whose headquarters are located in an old Lisbon palace, Palácio Sinel de Cordes. Their exhibition and conference program always creates a contrast with this unique venue.
From the Editor: This non-profit organisation is headquarteed in an 18th Century palace, offering stunning views to the Pantheon and Tragus. Triennal curate a program of engaging events program including the Open House Lisboa, each year opening doors to over 70 spaces located in different areas of the city. You also have access to a Sound Walk 'Knowing Water' that you can make whenever you feel like taking the boat to the other side of the rive. This sonic journey explores the subterranean space in which both Lisbon and Almada are contained, and asks questions about the future of our cities and the role of water in urban planning.
Opening soon is Fertile Futures, exhibition exploring water and the role of sustainable solutions in urban planning, launching 27 January 2024. This is also the official Portuguese representation at the Venice Architecture Biennale.
If you're a podcast lover, tune in to their Travelogue with a journey from Ljubljana to Lisbon by train.
In one sentence, what are your expectations for LDW 2024?
Inspire the world discover the various Portuguese design sides: from craft to industry, from design to architecture, from research to products, from fresh to historical, from Lisbon to the world ;)
About Sam Baron:
Sam Baron has been living in Lisbon since 2001. He holds a degree in Design from the Fine Arts School of Saint Etienne and a post-graduate degree from the National Decorative Arts School of Paris. Baron is an independent designer and consultant for international groups such as Louis Vuitton, La Redoute, Vista Alegre and the French liquor brand Hennessy. His work has been shown at numerous design events and fairs, including Maison et Objets and the Salon du Meuble in Paris, the Salone del Mobile of Milan, the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, New York, Tokyo Designers Block, Biennale de Saint Etienne and the Frankfurt Design Fair. In 2009, he received the “Grand Prix de la Creation de la Ville de Paris” in the design category and was selected by Philippe Starck in 2010 as one of the ten most important designers of the next decade. During many years, he worked as a designer and head of Fabrica, the Design department of Benetton’s communication research centre in Treviso. Recently, on the 15th of September 2023, he received the "insignes de Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres" at the French Embassy in Lisbon.
