Keeping the restaurant’s philosophy, SEM challenged designer Miguel Saboya to furnish it latest wine bar (opened in July 2021) using a sustainable design that elevates undervalued materials to high-end pieces. According to the Brazilian designer, “the biggest challenge arose when choosing the materials, as working with certified and local wood would not be enough for the radical vision of sustainability that SEM proposes”. Therefore, Miguel chose to work with Acacia which “in addition to being found locally, is an invasive species in Portugal, which means that its cut helps to preserve the native flora”, he says.

Another essential point in this project was the use of recycled plastic, made in partnership with the Lisbon-based atelier Recycle Lab – “more than recycling, it is important to add intrinsic value to the wasted material”, says designer Miguel Saboya. For the lighting, Miguel invited the plastic artist Salvador Salazar, who “developed conical lamps made of papier mache from food industry waste”.

Miguel Saboya also developed a series of outdoor urban-intervention furniture – Hanging Out – made up of a set of tables and seating solutions that can be easily attached (and detached) to the existing street structures. The seats and table tops of the Hanging Out series were made from recycled plastic in collaboration with the Lisbon-based atelier Recycle Lab, while the “simple iron tube-structures, that can be tightened with hand screws, were custom-made to fit Lisbon's traditional bollards and fences”.