Etel sets down roots
When Etel decided to open its European flagship in Milan, the Brazilian design firm 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 gallery space 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.
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.’
A version of this article appeared in WallPaper, December 2017.
