Founded 20 years ago by João Caetano de Almeida and Ivo Wanderley, furniture store arquivo contemporâneo has since become the planet’s leading emporium in Brazilian furniture design, stocking not only pieces by established designers, but also the country’s budding talents. In 2014, the Rio de Janeiro-based company first opened a branch in the country’s capital Brasília, and now, almost a decade later, it has expanded the retail space. Occupying the very same building in the leafy Lago Sul neighbourhood, but now situated on both the ground floor and basement, the arquivo contemporâneo store now measures 500 sqm. (5,382 sq.ft.). The premises have been designed by local architecture and interior design practice Orla Arquitectura and is based on simplicity and its purpose as a backdrop for the store’s elaborate range of design offerings.
Mind you, the basement used to be the building’s parking garage and had to be fully redeveloped. As such, the store’s palette is neutral, featuring white surfaces, wall panels clad in wood veneer, and an abundance of exposed concrete. A spiral staircase leads to the basement where next to plenty of additional display space a tiered chair display can be found. Similar to the ground floor, faux skylights have been installed crafted from circular backlit stretch ceiling fabric. The entrance to the two bathrooms has been concealed by wooden panels. The renewed arquivo contemporâneo store stocks a wide range of furniture pieces, home accessories and light fixtures. The brand list features names such as Isay Weinfeld, Claudia Moreira Salles, Oscar Niemeyer, Sergio Rodrigues, Carlos Motta and Lia Siqueira.
arquivo contemporâneo
SHIS QI 3 Bloco I, Shop 01/03 (Lago Sul)
DF 71605-480 Brasília
Telephone: +55 61 37039622
Mon-Fri 10am-7pm
Sat 10am-2pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
