Promotion: on the eve of its centenary, Italian furniture brand Porro has opened a New York flagship store designed to resemble a “grand house” on Madison Avenue.
The company‘s first dedicated showroom in the US – located at 31 East 31st Street – was born from a partnership with local design destination West | Out East and designed by West Chin Architects and Interior Designers.
The opening marks a significant milestone for Porro, which is this year celebrating its 100th birthday.
“Porro returns as a protagonist in New York, opening in Madison, one of the city’s most vibrant areas,” said architect Piero Lissoni, who has been responsible for Porro’s artistic direction since 1989.
“We return in style, showcasing the Porro house and renewing this important dialogue between America and Italy.”
Set behind two large street-facing windows overlooking Madison Avenue, the showroom was designed to resemble a “grand house” complete with a living and dining room and a home-working space.
Spread across the interior are some of Porro’s newest and most well-known pieces, showing off a range of finishes, including 19 woods, 31 lacquers, three types of glass, five metals and an array of leathers, fabrics and marbles.
Among the highlights is Japanese designer Nao Tamura’s folded aluminium Origata console, informed by the way kimonos are fashioned with zero offcuts, and the Inlay cupboard by Swedish studio Front, which uses traditional inlay techniques to combine four different shades of oak.
In the bedroom, Lissoni’s customisable storage system is filled with garments made by Cooperativa Alice – a social cooperative in Milan that teaches disadvantaged women the techniques of classical Italian tailoring.
The classic Load-it bookcase by German designer Wolfgang Tolk is featured across the showroom in several different settings and finishes.
A striped version hangs in the living area while the home-working space includes a model with transparent glass doors. In the bedroom, the same system was used to form a vanity niche with an integrated mirrored panel.
Elsewhere, Porro displayed products born from its ongoing collaboration with Italian-Danish duo GamFratesi, from the Romby armchair and Traveller daybed in the home office to the Voyage chairs in the dining room.
“Our daily obsession is leveraging the most advanced and sustainable technologies alongside the human touch of a nearly century-old heritage to shape the forefront of design innovation, creating interiors that are both contemporary and enduring,” said the company’s head of marketing Maria Porro.
“This special space in New York allows you to immerse yourself in our idea of design,” she added.
For more information about the showroom visit the West | Out East website.
The photography is by Dylan Chandler.
Partnership content
This article was written by Dezeen for Porro as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.
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