LÁZARO ROSA-VIOLÁN
THE ARTIST BEHIND SOFITEL’S NEW RESTAURANT
Lázaro was a painter for eight years and an architect for twenty before he opened in 2002 his studio in Barcelona to build a bridge between painting and design. His strengths are found in his use of structure, shape and an acute sense of space allowing him to surpass the clients’ wildest expectation.
Trained as a painter, traveler by conviction and interior designer by instinct..
More than spaces, Lazaro creates atmospheres. «My philosophy has always been based on accessible design. The experience should be greater than the space and for everyone to participate in». Lázaro, who has undertaken the renovation of the rooftop restaurant at «Sofitel Athens Airport» talks about how he envisions it, for the Mediterranean and for all the other colors beyond the endless blue.
We want the restaurant to be a destination for the Athenian public: a meeting place where they recognize, enjoy and feel themselves, with a sense of pride, as their own.
Lázaro started his professional career as a painter at age 8 by staging his first exhibition in Brussels. Finding success at an early age, he continued his passion to paint and exhibiting his work, while also studying architecture at the University of Madrid. By age 23, moved to Paris to continue painting and spent several summers in the north countryside of England to work. Then in 1998, one of his brothers recommended that he design the restaurant Can Vent on the Balearic Island of Formentera.
He took a three month break to create the space, designing it around the natural landscape. It became an overnight success and still thrives today. In 2003 his new passion for design led him to launch his namesake studio based in a former textile factory in Barcelona, Spain.
The team is comprised of industrial designers, interior architects, engineers, drafting and graphic designers. Spanning the globe with projects in over 40 countries Lázaro Rosa-Violán studio has worked with top hotel, restaurant and retail groups; including Inditex brands Oysho, Pull & Bear, and Lefties, Suarez Jewelers, Aristocracy, Soho House, Mondrian Hotels, Berns Group Stockholm, Iberica Restaurants London, H-10 Hotels, Nh Hotels, Sandy Lane Canouan and Marriot. In 2013 Lázaro was honored by Architectural Digest Spain as the Top Interior Designer in Europe and for the fifth consecutive year has been one of the top 100 Global Interior Designers by Architectural Digest Collectors France.