Sancal now has a new exhibition space in Madrid called CoLab, designed by Lucas Muñoz Muñoz.
This isn’t a conventional showroom; it’s located on the 4th floor, and we share it with the communication agency Fuego Camina Conmigo. Half CO-mune, half LAB-oratory, it was conceived from the outset as a place for talent to gather and creative experimentation.
The project promotes circularity through the reuse of materials and the reassembly of elements, creating a dynamic environment that encourages the discovery of new methods for tackling the refurbishment of a space.
A lively, ever-evolving space where, as Esther Castaño-López explained to us, “we want many things to happen there”. And indeed, things have already started happening.
On Thursday, 12 September, Lucas Muñoz Muñoz presented this project to the Spanish press, alongside a very special guest, Carlos Lamela, son of the architect of O’Donnell 34, Antonio Lamela.
Carlos shared with attendees his memories of how his father’s trips to New York and Tokyo inspired the design of this building. He described what the office and architecture studio they set up on the sixth floor were like and mentioned that, at the time, the O’Donnell area was still being developed. He also emphasized the importance of family legacy, both for the Lamela and Sancal families, and how the second generations have taken on the responsibility of preserving it over time.
Lucas, meanwhile, provided details of the space’s transformation. Under the motto “What can’t go, should remain” he explained how COLAB had functioned as an improvised workshop over the past few months. During the dismantling of the old notary offices, refurbished in the 1990s, false ceilings, floors, and walls were recovered and repurposed as new elements. A surprising discovery, even for the architect’s son, was the original terrazzo floor, made of 60 x 60 tiles with brass joints, something he hadn’t known about.
On Thursday 19 September, we held the grand opening of CoLab, where a large group of friends gathered to see the space. Esther Castaño-López welcomed those who braved an unexpected storm to join us that afternoon. Then, Joan Vellvé, a designer from Lucas Muñoz Muñoz’s team, presented the project and shared anecdotes about the reconstruction process carried out in collaboration with Tomás Alía’s team at Zimenta.
For the occasion, Esther and Elena wanted to bring a little bit of our homeland to the Spanish capital by offering a tasting of traditional Murcian products, served on an edible tablecloth made from tortas de gazpacho manchego—a dish also typical of Yecla. Ana Ballester and Amor González, founders of the catering company Chin-Chin, took up the challenge and filled this unique tablecloth with authentic regional delicacies.
Soon, we’ll share more details about the project, the building, and everything we have planned for COLAB. If you work in interior design and would like to visit the space we invite you to schedule a tour with our commercial team sancal.com/where.
We would like to express our gratitude for the involvement and effort of Tomás Alía from Zimenta, Manu Toro, the Asociación Norte Joven, and La Huertoteca in this project.
In the meantime, we leave you with reflections from the first visitors, so you can discover their impressions of our new space.
