• Carlos Pastor & Helder Bochum

    HC Studio Concept

    Trained as architects, Carlos Pastor and Helder Bochum are the faces of HC Studio Concept, an Interior Design brand, established in 2009 in the Algarve

journal

 
12 / 03 / 2015
Trained as architects, Carlos Pastor and Helder Bochum are the faces of HC Studio Concept, an Interior Design brand, established in 2009 in the Algarve. Both are from Lisbon, but in 2007, fate had it that they would meet in the Algarve.
Carlos Pastor began his professional career in the textile industry and fashion, and among the different awards and honorable mentions he has received, he won the 1st prize for ‘Young Fashion Designers’ at Fil Moda in 1985. He says, “It was the first competition of its kind to be held in Portugal and it was the distinction that marked me the most… being the first I received, it was an encouraging beginning! At that time, the Portuguese Textile Industry was in the process of taking off on a new phase in its history and bit by bit, people were starting to talk about fashion designers and design”, Carlos recalls.
In the following years his work was connected to the textile sector, but his passion for architecture remained alive, as did the growing need to do a course in this area. “I grew up surrounded by drawing boards and tracing paper”, he says jokingly, remembering his father’s engineering practice.After finishing the course, he began a new chapter in his life, by beginning to work in architecture. And that is how his interest in interiors came about: “Perhaps because of my past, I like working with fabrics, silk, cotton and then to touch iron, concrete, choose wood and ceramic materials…”.

Opening a store in Valencia (Spain) was the next step he took. “I was tired of Lisbon and I decided to change my life radically”, he explains.Upon returning to Portugal, Vilamoura was his next port of call, where he ended up meeting Helder.Adopting “a less hectic and more linear rhythm”, Helder Bochum has always worked with architecture. Following some years working in Lisbon, a colleague invited him to take up a position in the Vale do Lobo office , which then led to a change in direction, leading him to “pick up his tools and baggage” and move south, he tells us. Some years later, he accepted the invitation of a renowned architect to work in his practice based in Vilamoura.
“Every home offers a different challenge and we sometimes feel the need to create the odd tailor-made piece for a given space.” 

Developing contemporary architecture, in line with this studio’s hallmark style, the first invitation to work together on interiors appeared. “We had noticed that in terms of contemporary decoration and design, there was a void in the Algarve and that was how we decided to found the HC Studio Concept. Interior decoration in a specific area like this one has to be different from a home in Lisbon, Oporto or London, since the lifestyle is so different”, they argue.With things developing naturally, they inaugurated their first store open to public: “in the initial stage we worked as a private atelier but, we quickly realized that we also needed an area to display our work.” In a 170 square metre space, they exhibit internationally and nationally renowned brands, as well as pieces they have designed themselves. “Every home offers a different challenge and we sometimes feel the need to create the odd tailor-made piece for a given space.”
“We have been working in this market for six years and we have developed a very positive body of work, which is constantly growing, essentially targeted at foreign clients, who might live in the Algarve or who we might see frequently when they spend time here, attracted by the mild climate.”With a variety of projects currently being developed, new challenges await the partners. Without a doubt, “it’s going to be a hot summer, since we’ve just been invited to do an overseas project!” they announce 
Photography: Marcelo Lopes
Text: Manuel Fernandes
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