The VIP Room at ARCO Madrid has been lined and decorated with cork as part of a surprising artistic creation designed by Lázaro Rosa-Violán. In a collaboration that also involved the magazine AD, Spain’s Architectural Digest, Corticeira Amorim provided a range of technical cork solutions and decorative materials, including Wicanders flooring, cork boards and rolls with multiple visuals, Cork Fabrics and Cork Wall, as well as technical advice.
The partnership helped promote the unique aesthetic qualities of cork through an exploration of the natural material’s singularities, including its durability and lightness, in an exclusive area of Spain’s most important and attractive international art fair.
The VIP Room – an exclusive artistic space that occupies 1,200 square metres developed by the Lázaro Rosa Violán Studio – is a distinctive place where gallery owners, collectors and special guests can relax in furniture that also incorporates cork, make contacts and set up meetings. The space includes a restaurant run by Vilaplana with cuisine by the Peruvian chef Rafael Osterling.
Lázaro Rosa Violán first visited Corticeira Amorim to familiarise himself with the cork production cycle and the company’s vast portfolio of products and solutions. Speaking to AD magazine, the artist explained: “until now, I used cork only in a timid and appropriate way. In some projects, (…) I included small details [in cork], but now I want to use it in a much more immersive way: floors, walls, lamps, tables, benches, even the bar counter (…). I play with materiality and light, using transparencies, employing very thin sheets of cork - some more transparent, others more solid - which still have micro-perforations and which vary the intensity of the light.”
According to Cristina Amorim of Corticeira Amorim: “Lázaro Rosa Violán has used cork in an extraordinary way, highlighting its aesthetic qualities and its value as an outstanding natural material, as well as using our products and technical solutions, in a bold, modern design. The result is a perfect balance between the natural appearance and the comfort that cork provides in terms of acoustics and impact resistance.”
In the world of contemporary art, Corticeira Amorim has participated in leading international events and established close relationships with designers, architects and creative people who in their work have explored cork’s infinite possibilities.
About Lázaro Rosa-Violán
Internationally renowned for the projects he develops, the Spanish designer is familiar with cork as a first-class raw material and with its unique and distinctive characteristics. He recently used cork in the flagship Lisbon building of a well-known Spanish-owned international clothing brand. The interior decorator was responsible for the architectural renovation of the historic three-storey, 19th century palace where the brand’s concept store is located. He also designed the JNcQUOI space, the concept-shop restaurant, which is also located in the Portuguese capital.
Describing himself as "a painter, traveller and creator of atmospheres". Lázaro Rosa-Violán stand outs for his philosophy based on accessible design. He believes that “the experience should be bigger than the space, so that everyone can participate”. A painter since the age of eight, an architect since his twenties and a designer by nature, Lázaro opened his Barcelona studio in 2002, creating a new style by building “a bridge between my background in painting and a new realm of design”. His strengths include his use of structure, form and a sharp sense of the concept of space, qualities that enable him to exceed the most creative expectations of his clients. More than spaces, Lázaro creates atmospheres.
