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ylvia has woven an impressive, innovative and central feature of the bar-restaurant: a 34-metre curtain made of wool, silk and cotton threads that envelops the central service area (kitchen, toilets and lift),  and allows the living spaces (bar, terrace and restaurant) to flow seamlessly all around it. “I wove in 1.10-metre sections, each weighing 14 kilos,” explains Sylvia. “The bulk of the work is preparing the threads. I work with wool, silk, raw silk and cotton. You have to untangle them and work them. ” It took the artist four months to complete this monumental piece, which irresistibly invites you to touch it. “I really like it when people touch the pieces, because the impact and the contact transform them,” she confides. “Customers will open the curtain to go to the loo or the lift, for example; that’s an integral part of the concept. I work a lot with this idea of wear and the transformation of the material. I’ve just installed a piece outdoors for some clients. We’ve set up a camera to create a time-lapse of how it evolves over time.  What interests me is the material. The thread comes from the earth: it is the root and the essence of a place.”

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As Jaime and Paloma began to sketch out the outlines of the Terreno, Sylvia embarked on her artistic exploration of thread. “At the time, I started a series of pieces that I called the ‘Moiras’, in reference to the Greek goddesses who weave the threads of fate and the cycle of life and death. When I started working on them, I wanted to give form to this image through thread, and the light (installed inside the Moira’s structure) came along somewhat by chance to reveal the material. As a result, it became more than just a fabric; it became a luminous sculpture.”

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In 2020, Sylvia opened the doors of her studio to unveil this first collection. Among the visitors, a certain José Tatavull stepped through the door. Captivated by Sylvia’s work, he spoke to Jaime and Paloma about it. It was love at first sight. “I was lucky to be noticed by them,” the artist insists. “This hotel project had been in the air from the start, but it took a long time before it took concrete shape. In the meantime, I continued to develop my research.” She created the “Moiras Cosmos”, spiral-shaped pieces, and, little by little, larger, more architectural works, culminating in this final creation that takes centre stage in the Terreno restaurant.

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A rapid evolution that has its roots in childhood. Sylvia Montoya has always had yarn in her hands. “In Colombia,” she explains, “there is an extremely rich textile tradition. In my family, my aunts, my grandmother—everyone sewed. My mother, who is an architect, used to weave with her friends. But the real expert is my aunt. She taught me everything about knitting and crochet.” From the age of 7, Sylvia knitted clothes for her Barbies. Years later, after studying design and settling in Paris, she launched her own brand, Warmi (meaning ‘woman’ in Quechua): cutting-edge pieces, designed in the French capital and hand-knitted in Colombia. In 2000, just as fast fashion was embarking on its frantic and destructive race, Sylvia took the complete opposite approach by creating timeless pieces. Each came with a label detailing the name of the artisan knitter, the number of hours of work involved and the technique used.