Cantisa has collaborated with Spanish visual artist Cristina Mejías to engineer a custom wood veneer solution for From Tails to Tales, a suspended architectural sculpture installed inside the Starbucks Bernabéu flagship in Madrid. The project combines woodworking, material development and site-specific art. It also demonstrates how veneer products can move beyond furniture production and enter complex commercial installations.
A Landmark Setting for Material-Led Design
The artwork occupies the vertical space above the main staircase of the Starbucks flagship inside the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Opened in September 2025, the 900-square-metre venue extends across two floors and offers panoramic views of the football pitch. It is Starbucks’ first flagship store in Spain and has been described by the Bernabéu as the first store of its kind within a sports venue.
The interior combines coffee, hospitality, local art and immersive design. Starbucks conceived the staircase as a transition between the two levels. Glass, metal and carefully controlled lighting form a contemporary setting in which Mejías’ suspended artwork becomes a visual anchor.
The sculpture takes inspiration from the Starbucks two-tailed siren, maritime imagery and mythological narratives. Its curved elements suggest moving water and the siren’s tails. Tensioned lines, marine forms and small counterweights introduce rhythm and balance. The appearance also changes as visitors view it from different floors and angles.
Custom Veneer Solves a Complex Challenge
Mejías often works with wood, but this installation required more than a conventional veneer sheet. The material needed to remain light enough for suspension while offering the flexibility required to create wide, flowing curves. It also needed sufficient stability to retain its form within a busy commercial environment.
Cantisa developed a bespoke roll composed of different wood veneers joined longitudinally. The company combined natural and dyed veneers in several tones over an aqua-green PVC base. This backing supported the thin wood surface while allowing it to bend into the sculpture’s sweeping forms.
The solution preserved the warmth, grain and natural variation of real wood while delivering the flexibility and dimensional stability required for a large suspended installation. The combination also allowed the artist to introduce blues, greens, ochres and natural shades without losing the tactile appearance associated with genuine veneer.
Furniture Technology Enters the Art Space
The project draws on Cantisa’s wood veneer edgebanding with PVC or ABS backing. Its standard product combines natural wood with a polymer base to improve flexibility, strength and ease of handling. Cantisa states that the product can be supplied in different veneer species and processed using conventional edgebanding machinery.
For woodworking professionals, the Bernabéu installation demonstrates a wider opportunity. Hybrid veneer products can operate as engineered decorative materials rather than only as furniture-finishing components.
By adjusting the backing colour, veneer sequence and roll construction, manufacturers can develop surfaces for retail features, hospitality interiors, sculptural elements and other bespoke contract applications.
The installation also highlights the value of early cooperation between designers, artists and material specialists. Cantisa did not simply supply an existing product. The company worked with Mejías to develop a unique construction that addressed appearance, flexibility, weight, curvature and installation requirements.
Wood Becomes Part of the Story
In From Tails to Tales, wood is not merely a decorative covering. Its grain, colour and natural variation communicate movement, memory and transformation. Different veneer strips create a repeated visual pulse along the curves, while sections of the coloured PVC backing remain visible as part of the composition.
Mejías was born in Jerez de la Frontera and now works in Madrid. Her practice explores storytelling, memory and the relationship between materials, objects and spaces. Her work has appeared in international exhibitions and is held in institutional and private collections, including Fundación ARCO, Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo and the Andalusian Centre for Contemporary Art.
The wider Starbucks interior reinforces this material narrative. Natural oak textures characterise the ground floor, while stone, copper, glass and metal define other areas. The sculpture therefore creates both contrast and continuity within the flagship’s broader architectural language.
A Model for Bespoke Woodworking
The Cantisa and Cristina Mejías collaboration at Starbucks Bernabéu shows how custom wood veneer, PVC-backed veneer and woodworking innovation can support an ambitious architectural sculpture.
It also provides a valuable model for contract interiors, where manufacturers increasingly need to combine reliable technical performance with a distinctive visual identity.
For veneer producers, fabricators and interior specialists, the project demonstrates that material expertise can influence the creative concept itself. When art, design and manufacturing develop together, a familiar woodworking product can become the defining feature of a high-profile commercial space.
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