Coming hot on the heels of the Frame Awards, we have received a Highly Commended accolade from Dezeen Awards for our Madrid showroom, CoLab. Although we did not take home the main prize this year, we were honored to be recognized by the Jury in the Sustainable Interior category.
Together with Lucas Muñoz, CoLab has been celebrated for its radically honest approach to sustainability and material memory. Transforming the fourth floor of one of Madrid’s first office buildings, designed by Antonio Lamela in 1966, was an honour, a responsibility and, above all, an inspiration. His son, Carlos Lamela, who continues the practice today, supported the project from the start, a gesture that encouraged us to work with even greater respect.
The process was almost archaeological: layer by layer, Lucas and his team removed everything added over the decades to recover the original architecture. A creative exercise guided by a principle that became the heart of the project: “what can’t go, stays.” Accepting each element as part of the building’s history and reinterpreting it from there.
The jury highlighted precisely this approach: “Under the ethos ‘what can’t be recycled remains’, Sancal and Lucas Muñoz have found truly fun, playful ways to work with what’s available, while bringing measurable benefits to the local community.” More info here.
This recognition underscores something that was essential for us: ensuring that both the result and the process were sustainable and honest. Working with what already exists requires creativity, yes, but also humility, curiosity and an openness to the imperfect. And that is where CoLab found its identity: in that blend of archaeology, design and experimentation that transformed the space into a living laboratory.
Receiving this special mention from an international jury reaffirms that exploring new ways of doing things is the path we want to continue following.
