Photographs: Mayte Piera and Nuel Puig.
Interior design project.
Orange Forest is not simply an ephemeral space; it is an experience that goes far beyond the visual, it is a sensory and emotional immersion that celebrates contemporary textile design in a warm, evocative atmosphere with deep Valencian roots. When I conceived this project for Interiores magazine as part of the Valencia Home Textile Fair and Habitat Fair, my intention was to translate the essence of the Albufera landscape at sunset into an architectural setting. That moment when nature is painted orange, with a light that seems to envelop everything in calm and energy at the same time, was my great inspiration. I didn’t want to build just another stand, but rather to create an orange forest where colour, material and light were the real protagonists, but above all, where visitors could feel.
What interests me about design is not only the visual result, but also its ability to evoke emotion, to make visitors breathe, touch, listen and feel welcome. That is why Orange Forest avoids the rigid orthogonality typical of exhibition spaces. Here, the architecture is organic and free, as if it were a real forest inviting visitors to wander through it at their leisure, discovering its hidden corners, textures and atmospheres. There is no marked path, but rather moments that unfold like scenes, where suspended textile structures become trees and curtains that, almost like a whisper, soften the light and sound. Walking barefoot on the enveloping carpets is an invitation to connect with the most intimate and tactile aspects of the space.
The orange that dominates the project is not just a colour; for me, it is a statement, a language. I like to think that this orange evokes more than just an image: it is the reflection of the sun on the water, the scent of ripe citrus fruits fallen on the ground, the warmth of the Valencian soil. It is an emotional colour that invites you to stop, take a deep breath and feel the space from within. This vibrant yet serene energy characterises the entire project.
Light plays a fundamental role. It is not used to highlight, but rather to suggest, to hint. It filters through the ‘canopies’ of the textile trees, creating soft shadows and backlighting that make each surface appear to have a different texture. The lighting becomes a choreographic element, accompanying the visitor’s movement and modulating their perception of the space as if it were a silent dialogue.
I wanted the space to be a pause in the visual saturation that often invades trade fairs. I do not seek to impress with excess, but to excite with simplicity, with subtraction. I want those who enter Orange Forest to feel that they can slow down, touch the fabrics, sit down to rest and share a moment. I want the design to be a caress, a warm refuge. For me, interior design is more than just aesthetics; it is a vehicle for well-being, for human and sensory connection.
The selection of materials and brands was not random. Each collaborator contributes more than just a product; they add to the emotional narrative that I sought to construct. From the furniture that emerges like shoots, the carpets that invite you to feel the floor, to the fabrics that function as the skin of the space, everything contributes to that dialogue between tradition and modernity, between landscape and architecture. But most importantly, everything is alive, flexible, and deeply human.
Sustainability is not just a label, but rather every decision I made: carefully chosen materials, modularity that allows for reuse and recycling, a commitment to what is possible and consistent. I wanted nature to be more than just decoration, but rather a profound and contemporary inspiration that is reinterpreted with respect and poetry.
Working alongside Interiores magazine was essential because we didn’t just want to show a project, but to inhabit it, bring it to life, make that scene an experience. That’s why Orange Forest functions as a physical translation of a graphic and emotional identity, a place that invites you to live and not just look.
For me, this project is also a metaphor for where design is now: at a time when we are seeking to reconnect with the essential, with humanity, with nature. In a fast-paced world, Orange Forest is a space to rediscover ourselves, to care for ourselves, to imagine and to remember that design has a soul. The forest symbolises community and permanence, memory and future, that place of passage where everything makes sense.
My understanding of design has always been to combine emotion with technique, the scenographic with the symbolic. Here, the language is expressed with maturity, with a precise chromatic sensitivity and absolute control of each piece and each texture. Nothing is left to chance, because every detail—from the height of the fabrics to the colour sequence on the floor—serves a narrative and sensory purpose. I want those who walk through Orange Forest to not only see a space, but to experience it, to feel welcomed and touched in the deepest way.
Although the forest will only stand for a few days, I know it will remain in the memory of those who have walked through it. Like a fading sunset, its mark is luminous, warm and unforgettable. It is a silent manifesto on the beauty of textiles, the power of atmosphere and the strength of a design that does not need to raise its voice to move us.
©2025 sigfrido serra studio. All Rights Reserved.
