Graham’s Port Lodge, 3,600 m2 in size, is in Vila Nova de Gaia and belongs to the Symington family.
Studio Name: P 06 studio
Design Team: Nuno Gusmão (Creative Director); Giuseppe Greco (Designer); Joana Proserpio (Designer)
Area: 3.600 m2
Year: 2013
Location: Vila Nova de Gaia
Photography Credits: FG+SG
Other Credits: Luís Loureiro (architect); Branca Lisboa (furniture)
The challenge that was set for us was to “reinvent” the entire space of this 193-year-old lodge, in order to enhance the experience of visitors.
The 1890-built Lodge which still houses the cellars of the port wine producer Graham’s, has been renovated by architect Luis Loureiro in collaboration with design studio P 06.
The project covered the design of the reception area, auditorium, exhibition hall, tasting room, vintage room, shop, restaurant and wine bar.
Some of these spaces did not exist initially, while others were renovated for the new visitors’ route.
In an effort to create something timeless, the general concept of this project was related to the idea of creating objects, spaces and visual communication that give the feeling of having always existed, and that will remain that way forever (trying to avoid the feeling of a ‘vintage’ environment with an artificial character and creating a widespread sense of historic prestige).
The length of some features is greater than usual in an effort to adapt their dimensions to the spaces, creating a humanised scale in these “warehouse spaces”. For example: the exhibition room table (designed by us) is 15m long but with only 6 legs.
The visual communication was used to continue this idea of “something historical but somehow timeless”, by using typography and layouts that might suggest this logic. We also used durable technical solutions, such as wood engraving, metallic lettering, and the “wallprint” system, which allowed us to literally “tattoo” text and image directly on the walls.
