Muntaner 330 PJ.Lobster, optical boutique, by El Departamento

Project description by El Departamento

After the recent openings of new spaces in Madrid and Barcelona, the architecture and interior design studio El Departamento inaugurates the latest PJ boutique optician. Lobster in the Eixample of Barcelona. In an old noble building in an eclectic Catalan style from the beginning of the 20th century, a space is presented in which the high-tech nature of the brand converges with a high rationalist character, minimalism with the most solid materiality. A dual space that encapsulates the point of maturity at which the studio is.

Thus, in the heart of Barcelona's Eixample, the iconic upper area of the city, El Departamento reveals its latest architectural jewel. On a ground floor that, historically, housed a fruit shop of reference for local commerce, there is an emblematic stone façade with four large arches that articulate the two façades of the premises. This monumental space, with a square morphology and a free height of more than 5 meters, is structured by a central pillar that distributes the area into four quadrants, one of them with a loft.

Marina Martín and Alberto Eltini, co-founders of El Departamento, have proposed a practical and rationalist approach that respects the pre-existing morphology and structure. A contained, strategic, and cerebral spatial performance that, through a very subtle gesture, manages to resolve the project. In this way, a circular sofa that hugs the central pillar becomes the stairs that lead to the service area, located in the loft of the space.


Muntaner 330 PJ.Lobster by El Departamento. Photograph by José Hevia.

For its part, the four large arches not only function as a monumental window that connects the interior and exterior in both directions, but also function as a key point of the project, displaying as a lattice the stainless steel shelves custom designed by the study. These are self-supporting shelves that subtly solve the mechanics necessary to be illuminated and remain upright. Furthermore, the Department consciously avoids the entrance through the corner of the premises to erect the main access through the arch attached to the party wall, thus highlighting the majesty of the building's portal.

The walls of the space have been coated with a historicist lime mortar of a bluish-gray tone. An architectural resource that alludes to the association of the collective imagination with Barcelona's high society and its blue blood, since, traditionally, this sector has occupied this part of the city. Tubular stainless steel elements are integrated as monolithic blocks for furniture, mirrors, shelves, and stairs, thus maintaining harmony and visual coherence. The nobility of the space extends to the silver travertine floor, where its grayish tone dialogues with the vertical walls, the ceiling, and the steel furniture.


Muntaner 330 PJ.Lobster by El Departamento. Photograph by José Hevia.

The attention to detail that The Department instills in its projects is reflected in every corner of the space through the custom-designed furniture. The Munt 330 stools appear as millimetric pieces that capture in their simplicity the elegance of their layout. For its part, the Blong support table, also present in the boutique opticians in Born and Madrid, is presented as the protagonist of the space.

Since its birth in 2017, El Departamento has revolutionized the world of retail architecture, in addition to developing outstanding work in residential projects and contract spaces such as offices or restaurants. During these years, it has achieved its consolidation in native clients digital in its leap to the physical space, working with brands such as Nude Project, Pompeii, Lady Pipa and Salsa Jeans, among others.