Claus Porto
New York, New York

As the first international boutique for a 131 year-old Portuguese soap and fragrance house, this store design celebrates the company’s rich past and vibrant future. An intricate, 42 ft-long, freestanding archway milled from Portuguese cork pays homage to Portuguese architecture and fine craftsmanship.

Illuminating the archway required a bold yet balanced lighting solution to highlight both the brand’s iconic packaging and the 1500 faceted cork tiles. A glowing spine of light runs down the center of the archway: a modular pendant with a triangular profile that references the diamond pattern in the cork. Suspension points are perfectly concealed.

Display niches are lit from above by custom-fit, edge-lit acrylic panels held by magnets with no visible hardware. Concealed linear sources in vertical recesses at the back walls create the “light at the end of the tunnel” effect, drawing your eye through the space.

The integrated lighting elements animate the architecture’s complex but honest expression of form, texture, and function – bridging the concepts of store and sculpture. Custom light fixtures precisely fitted within the pre-fab cork, and carefully timed coordination with the entire team, were the keys to success.

IES Lumen Award of Excellence 2019