Fábrica Santo Thyrso Cultural Space in Santo Tirso

Where Textile Heritage Meets Contemporary Portuguese Design

Some spaces preserve history. Others create new ways of experiencing it.

Fábrica Santo Thyrso, part of Santo Tirso’s Cultural and Creative Quarter, is an interpretative space dedicated to the city’s textile history and the identity of a community profoundly shaped by the cotton industry.

Here, industrial heritage becomes part of contemporary cultural life.

The space brings the public closer to the history of Santo Tirso while creating a setting where memory, craftsmanship and contemporary design can exist alongside one another.

Within this context, a curated selection of Sentta furniture introduces a distinctly contemporary layer through the Lynn, Ada and Cintura Collections.

Three different design languages. Three interpretations of form and craftsmanship. One setting where furniture becomes part of the dialogue between past and present.

The Lynn Coffee Table, designed by Aitor Garcia de Vicuña, introduces a strong architectural presence.

Its sculptural base takes inspiration from the geometric entrances of mountain caves, transforming a natural reference into a bold contemporary form. Crafted in oak or ash wood and combined with an innovative high-pressure laminate top, Lynn brings material contrast and a distinctive silhouette to the interior.

The wider Lynn Collection includes a dining table, oval dining table, side table and coffee table, extending the same sculptural language across different interior settings.

Alongside it, the Ada Collection, designed by Mónica Braga dos Santos, introduces softness.

Inspired by mid-century modern design, Ada explores the relationship between functionality, elegant curved lines and generous volumes. Crafted in ash wood, upholstered in cotton velvet and finished in brown pewter, its forms create an inviting counterpoint to the architectural character of the space.

Comprising a sofa, lounge chair, daybed and bar stool, Ada brings a more relaxed and embracing dimension to the project.

The Cintura Collection, designed by Sara Elizagarate, adds another interpretation of textile and form.

Its inspiration reaches back to 19th-century fashion, when dresses were carefully constructed to highlight the grace of the waist. Cintura translates the gathered detailing associated with those silhouettes into contemporary sculptural seating.

In a cultural space dedicated to the history of textiles, that reference acquires a particularly meaningful context.

The collection includes a dining chair, lounge chair, luxe lounge chair, counter stool and bar stool, combining its classical source of inspiration with a contemporary approach to comfort and proportion.

Together, Lynn, Ada and Cintura establish a dialogue between different expressions of design.

Lynn brings geometry and architectural form.

Ada introduces generous volumes and softness.

Cintura explores the relationship between upholstery, silhouette and fashion.

At Fábrica Santo Thyrso, these pieces sit within a wider story about materials, making and the evolution of design—subjects deeply connected to the identity of the space itself.

This relationship makes the project particularly relevant when considering cultural space furniture.

Museums, interpretative centres and creative spaces are designed not only to display and communicate, but also to be experienced. Furniture creates places to pause, observe, converse and spend time within those environments, becoming part of the visitor’s relationship with the space.

At Fábrica Santo Thyrso, contemporary furniture does not compete with the history being told.

It lives alongside it.

A former industrial identity becomes cultural heritage. Textile traditions encounter contemporary upholstery. Craftsmanship connects different periods through new forms and new ways of making.

Textile heritage without nostalgia. Contemporary design in dialogue with history. A cultural space where craftsmanship continues to evolve.

Featured Sentta pieces: Lynn Coffee Table · Ada Collection · Cintura Collection

Project: Fábrica Santo Thyrso, Santo Tirso
Furniture: Sentta · Lynn · Ada · Cintura