Ultrasuede blends purity and craftsmanship at new Lisbon showroom

Anyone who has visited Lisbon will have surely spent a day or more in Sintra, a quiet and quintessentially Portuguese town a short drive from the city. Steeped in culture, it seems a fitting spot for Japanese brand Toray to open a new showroom. 

But unlike the fleeting notion of a Sintra day-trip, the studio has lasting importance for Toray by dramatically expanding its capabilities as a materials supplier to the fashion, interiors and automotive worlds, to name a few. Located in an active sewing factory, the site boosts Ultrasuede's colour stock operations in Europe with a strong and integrated local supply chain that covers everything from cutting to sewing.

The structure is framed by a stained birch ply structure and grounded with a clean, industrial micro-cement floor. In a nod to sustainability but also the abundance of beautiful local materials, the studio is outfitted with terracotta tiles from Viúva Lamego, Portugal's oldest handmade ceramic maker. 

These glossy blue tiles can be seen straight away at the reception area. At the centre of the showroom are two wall-mounted displays that showcase the complete Ultrasuede colour palette, supported by a console table that stores prototypes and mock-ups. Visitors can even get hands on with Ultrasuede simply by taking a seat on the lounge furniture, which has been upholstered in the ultra-soft material. 

The vision is to support a more informed and responsible approach to material selection

A large internal window in the main warehouse wall connects the more casual, contemplative meeting area with the hustle and bustle of the stockroom, sparking curiosity and experimentation with sewing equipment — which is encouraged as part of a visit. 

All this aims to create an environment that is conducive to exploration, getting hands-on with the material and not simply observing from a distance. The display and sampling zones are supported with a bathroom and pantry, which tie in nicely with the rest of the showroom's aesthetic. 

"The vision for this showroom is to support a more informed and responsible approach to material selection," a company spokesperson tells Car Design News, "by enabling designers and clients to directly interact with the material before specifying it in projects. It is a space for material sampling and experimentation rather than a conventional display, and by including it within the factory setup — rather than keeping it away from the production process -- visitors can interact directly with the material within its manufacturing context." 

It is an obvious spot for creatives to visit in person

Reasonable comparison can be made to a restaurant with an on-site 'garden kitchen'; or an OEM offering test drives close to the main factory. The product is experienced in its place of origin. 

"In working with a lot of CMF designers in the car industry, my gut feeling is that many desire more opportunities to explore new solutions in person," Toray's spokesperson told CDN. "I believe that if we can show our material and extended capabilities in this new space with an open mind, together we can all explore the creative possibilities of future mobility."

Design was led through a collaboration between Portuguese designer Rui Pereira and Japanese designer Ryosuke Fukusada, who sought to blend European modernism, Japanese spatial purity and Portuguese craftsmanship. 

The result? Warm, neutral surfaces, controlled lighting and acoustic insulation create an atmosphere of calm that contrasts with the vibrance of Ultrasuede's diverse material colour palette. This intentional clash is not an awkward dissonance but a harmony between soft and bright, muted and loud — akin to how the brightly-coloured 'Pena Palace' that shines amid Sintra's canvas of forested hills. 

The presence of the two designers is enhanced by the fact they also designed most of the furniture inside. For example, the Anza pouffes and benches (upgraded with Ultrasuede for the showroom) and the Brim Pendant Light. Indeed, part of the idea was to highlight wider applications of Ultrasuede across other sectors including furniture, automotive and fashion — epitomised by the brand's tagline: "Beautiful Possibilities." The gallery above shows some of Toray's most recent Automotive Collection samples.

Portugal's inherent skillset in textiles and high-quality fabric makes it an obvious location for Toray to boost its European presence; the design of this new showroom also makes it the perfect spot for designers and creatives to get inspired in person.