Lisbon Design Week x CUPRA

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As part of our series of Creative Ground, Lisbon Design Week travelled to the South of Portugal in a CUPRA Formentor to visit three design studios along the way. From rural workshops to historic buildings, the focus was on process and on the natural environment as a resource. Looking at how local materials are sourced and tested, how ideas emerge, how experimentation leads to new shapes and textures, and how context ultimately shapes the final result.

Mircea Anghel

MIRCEA ANGHEL STUDIO — Pattern, Time, Experimentation

At MIRCEA ANGHEL STUDIO, design begins with what Mircea Anghel calls a “fingerprint” originated from a wall in his studio, a pattern logic that now underpins much of his work.

“All the shapes that we create are combinations of this wall.”, he explains.

Through layering simple forms, increasingly complex compositions emerge. The same language travels across scale, from furniture into flooring and architectural surfaces, responding to movement and spatial flow.

Material experimentation drives the studio forward, particularly in recent explorations with copper. Unlike static finishes, copper changes over time, developing patina and recording use. Some pieces evolve over years, moving through cycles of testing and refinement.

“The core value is experimentation.”, is Mircea’s motto.

The process is iterative and direct: test, adjust, repeat. Let the material react. Accept that unpredictability is part of the outcome.

Wesley Sacardi

The Loulé Criativo Project — Continuity Through Craft

In the Algarve, Wesley Sacardi, works at the intersection of craft preservation and contemporary design. His practice is closely linked to Loulé Criativo, a platform created to revitalize traditional crafts and safeguard regional techniques including the Esparto grass weaving , by bringing artisans, designers, and artists into dialogue.

Esparto, a Mediterranean plant native to the region, has historically been used for making baskets, fishing ropes, storage, and cradles. Today, its applications evolve, but its roots remain local. The Loulé Criativo project is giving the opportunity to local artisans to revisit their practices in a more contemporary way and help to foster entrepreneurship.

“It’s interesting how, from a weed that seems like nothing, you can make pieces we’d never imagine.”, says one of the artisans.

Wesley’s approach to material avoids erasure. Working with reclaimed wood, he preserves visible traces of what came before.

“I don’t like erasing the history of what has already happened. I like giving it a sense of continuity.”, explains Wesley

For him, reuse is not trend-driven , it is responsibility. Materials carry history, and his work extends that story rather than replacing it.

Further Ther

Material-Led Practice and Collective Energy

Further is a collaborative studio shaped by a couple with two complementary backgrounds: engineering and fine arts. One pushes technical feasibility; the other pushes creative possibility. The result is a process grounded in dialogue and tension.

Their starting point is always the material.

“We take inspiration a lot from the material itself… it defines the path we want to take.”, they explain.

Working primarily with wood and ceramics, their move from Norway to Portugal required rebuilding their material base, new wood species, new clay systems, new suppliers. That reset deepened their engagement with landscape and context.

Portugal offered access to craftspeople, openness to experimentation, and a scale that allowed them to grow their practice organically.

Out of that context came Luso Collective, a collective of design studios based in Portugal and amplifying both individual and shared voices.

“As a group of people, we can do much more than as a singular person.”, they state.

For Further, experimentation extends beyond the object, into collaboration, community, and the shaping of the space itself. We can’t wait to see what they have in store for the next edition of Lisbon Design Week!

𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱, 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝗯𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗨𝗣𝗥𝗔, 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗹.

Filmed by Ines Silva Sá I @inesilvasa

Directed by Olivia Swift I @ojswift