Creative Producer and Spatial Designer | Marina Izquierdo

From Banyoles to Paris

Castañer is a story of continuity of a brand that has grown without ever severing its roots. Born as a family workshop in Banyoles, it emerges from a landscape, from the tactility of materials, from the quiet persistence of craft. Its language is one of restraint and honesty, where time does not rush but settles gently into each piece.

Its espadrilles have travelled far beyond their origins, evolving from vernacular footwear into an international icon. Yet their essence remains unchanged: objects designed not to impress, but to accompany. They belong to lived moments: sun-warmed streets, long Mediterranean summers, and the understated elegance of cities that unfold without spectacle.

Silent Continuity

The project finds its metaphor in the floating houses of Banyoles. Suspended between land and water, these vernacular structures inhabit a delicate balance anchored yet fluid, constant yet responsive to change. Their white facades, traced with green and red, stand quietly against the shifting reflections of the lake. Seasons pass, generations move on, but they remain still, almost untouched by time.

They hold memory, suggestion, and narrative. They do not reveal themselves entirely; instead, they invite imagination. In this way, they resonate deeply with the spirit of Castañer: forms that endure, that do not seek attention, yet remain unmistakable.

From its beginnings, the brand has been rooted in a specific territory and in a way of making that is inseparable from it, an artisanal and sustainable practice shaped by proximity to material, by knowledge of the hand, and by respect for origin.

Like the floating house, Castañer exists in a state of quiet permanence. It has evolved, crossed borders, and entered new contexts, yet it has never abandoned its language. Each espadrille continues to be shaped by hand, by fiber, by inherited knowledge. Its value lies not in reinvention, but in the subtle power of continuitym an enduring presence that, like the houses on the lake, remains while everything else shifts around it.

RETAIL STORE DESIGN

Sustainability is not an added layer within Castañer it is embedded in its origin. The store design emerges from the desire to embody this value in every decision, allowing it to be felt rather than declared.

Materials, construction, and the shopping experience are conceived through a conscious lens, where each element reflects its origin, its making, and its capacity to endure.

The palette is guided by proximity, longevity, and low environmental impact. Natural and artisanal solutions reconnect the space with the local and the vernacular: lime-rendered walls, brick structures, and ceramics shaped through traditional processes bring a quiet, tactile depth.

Yet the project moves beyond material selection. It becomes a space for exploration fostering innovation and research in biomaterials, where tradition and future possibilities meet.