Hasta La Ideas

Dutch architects Concrete designed flattened parasols of rusted steel to shelter the terraced restaurant outside a historic castle in Girona, Spain.

The canopy is composed of twelve steel-coated discs that overlap one another to cover up to 200 diners at the restaurant.

Gaps between circles on the canopy surface are filled with glass.

Transparent curtains can be hung around the parasols to provide additional protection from the wind.

Surrounding the courtyard is the fourteenth century castle, which was converted into a boutique hotel back in 1999.

This story is our third in recent months to feature a converted castle – see our earlier stories about castles converted into museums in Germany and in the Alps.

Photography is by Ewout Huibers.

More information has been provided by the architects:

Program: a terrace covering to accommodate 200 people.

Short design story

Hotel Castell D’emporda located in Girona, Spain offers a signature restaurant including a large terrace with great views over the surrounding landscape. Concrete designed, at the clients’ request, a roof or covering for this terrace with the possibility to create an enclosed space with full wind and rain protection. One of the design conditions was to create a covering that works in harmony with the historical and listed building. Additionally we wanted to maintain the terrace feeling while be seated under the covering.

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In principle a terrace is an outdoor space where one can enjoy the weather. If necessary, you need a parasol for sun or rain protection, but there is almost no obstruction between the visitor and the view. The solution was to create abstract parasols. 12 Circles in divers diameters are placed randomly on the terrace. Where the circles touch they melt together, the open spaces between circles are filled in with glass. The circular parasol shapes enhance the feeling of being in an outdoor environment on a terrace. The shape of the covering appears as a separate almost temporary element, leaving the ancient building untouched.

A glass roof or a winter garden would to much become a building, create a feeling being inside a structure and would also appear as an extension of the building, damaging the ancient character.

The top and edge of the parasols are made in rusted steel, seeking harmony with the ancient building and the natural environment. The white painted steel columns and ceiling create an open and light outdoor atmosphere under the parasols. Transparent sliding curtains can be hung easily in colder periods but always stay open. When the mistral winds suddenly appear the whole terrace can be closed in a couple of minutes.

Round and square marble tables and two white leather lounge couches create different seating facilities. Underneath one parasol a circular outdoor bar is placed. The restaurant now has his own name: Margarit.

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History Castell d’Emporda

Castell d’emproda was build in 1301 on a hill nearby the small city of La Bisbal close to Girona (Spain). The castle has been owned for centuries by the Margarit family. In 1973 Salvador Dali wanted to buy the castell for his wife, but the owner refused a payment in artworks. Since 1999 Castell d’emporda has been transformed into a boutique hotel.

Project: Castell D’emporda
Client: Albert Diks, Margo Vereijken – Castell D’emporda – La Bisbal, Girona

Concept, architecture and interior: Concrete
Office address: Rozengracht 133 III
Postal code: 1016 lv
City: Amsterdam
Country: the Netherlands

Project team concrete: Erikjan Vermeulen, Rob Wagemans, Cindy Wouters, Melanie Knuewer

Advisors:
Building regulations: Figa Arquitectos – Girona
Structural advice: Bellapart Construction – Olot

Contractors and suppliers:
Steel construction and corten steel: Bellapart Construction – Olot
Groundwork, ceilingwork and electrical: Burgos Gasull – la bisbal
Transparant curtains: Iaso – Lieida
Bar, loungeseating and tables: Roord Binnenbouw – Amsterdam
chairs: Academia – Italy
lighting: Modular

Covered area: 250m2
First briefing: januari 2011
Opening: june 2011
Duration of construction: 2 months

See also:

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Tree Restaurant by Koichi Takada	Metropol Parasol by J. Mayer H.	Pormetxeta Square by Xpiral and MTM

Panels woven from steel wire filter light into this combined cafe and gallery by Spanish architects MSB Estudi Taller.

Located in Olot, north-east Spain, the 6T7 Espai Cafe has bare concrete walls and flooring.

Thick steel plates were used to make seating booths, bars and counter tops.

The wire window panels were woven by hand at the architects’ studio, creating an uneven texture in contrast to the severe furniture and interior.

Photographs are by Miquel Merce Arquitecte.

Here’s some more information from MSB Estudi Taller:

6T7 ESPAI CAFÈ
Old Town, Olot.

6T7 ESPAI CAFÈ is not just a regular cafeteria. It’s a meeting place for gatherings and exhibitions.

It is located in an alley in the old town, with stony and gray tones.

We wanted a neutral space to respond to the location, integrated in the context of the neighbourhood. This space had to be empty, clean and sober. Its walls are a place for exhibitions, for contemplation.

The space was small. We optimised grouping all elements of the bar, integrated to leave the view clean. The entire container is finished with concrete with the same appearance and roughness of the environment, the street: stony and gray.

The furniture could not reveal the function, could not charge the space, it had to be neutral. We created a piece of furniture to be seen, like a sculpture. A sculpture crafted from steel plate generating pace and enhances the shape of space. The sculpture wants to be austere, “essentially constructive,” and wants to pervade space: “sculpted space.”

The finish is warm and gentle; steel was chosen with a dark brown tone and dark streaks that gives a natural texture to the piece.

The space was incomplete, lacking a warmer atmosphere, with more vibration, more humanised.

In one of the facades facing the street, there is an element, which filters, blurs, divides the light. A vibration element that provides texture, roughness to space, in contrast to the smooth surface of the walls and furniture. One element made by us, by hand in the workshop, composed by frames twisted with steel wire, and hang along the entire wall, making a totally random composition, flexible and filtered. A handmade piece to humanise the space, intentionally made to get close and merge architecture to the people.

Neutral space + sculpture + atmosphere generator = 6T7 ESPAI CAFÈ
Miquel Subiràs, MSB ESTUDI TALLER, 2011.

CREDITS Architectural project: Miquel Subiràs – MSB Estudi taller d’arquitectura i disseny
web: www.msbestuditaller.com
Client: Raquel Martín
Surface: 160m2
Location: Carrer dels Sastres, no35 Olot, Girona, SPAIN
Constructor: Construccions Pallàs
Blacksmith and furniture: Metàl·liques Olot
Painting: Brillauto
Equipment: Terundar
Photography: Miquel Merce Arquitecte

See also:

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Coso Cafè in Palermo	Conduit restaurant by Stanley Saitowitz	M.N.ROY by Picault and Godefroy

The asphalt surface of a car park extends inside this cafe in Shizuoka, Japan, by Japanese architects Suppose Design Office.

White-painted road markings continue across the interior floor surface, denoting route directions and zebra crossings.

Door frames and furniture details are picked out in yellow, matching the flagpoles of a driving school that occupies the car park.

Recycled car seats are used as chairs and benches are modelled on bus-stop seating.

Large glass panels slide back to remove the walls between cafe and car park.

More projects by Suppose Design Office on Dezeen »

Photography is by Toshiyuki Yano.

The following information is from the architects:

Café/day

When I was a child I caught some killifish and kept it in a sink. If I was in the same situation now I will by a fish tank. When a fish tank is called a fish tank it will be used as a fish tank. This is something simple but the sink could have been called a fish tank as it had similar function as a fish tank. When you give a name to an object it inherits the function of the name but if you design a place without a name then it is free to develop its own name by the occurring activities.

Café/day is located within a quiet residential area 5minutes from the train station of Numazu-shi, Shizuoka. The project was to renovate two unit of a Izakaya (Japanese style bar) located on a ground floor of a two storey building.

In front of the building there are car parks, a road, and a driving school and it felt like the road continued forever. When observing the driving school, there were a lot of yellow cars and even the poles that configured the driving lane was yellow. The colour yellow was very influential and the surrounding feature gave influence in designing the café.

The plan was to make the two Izakaya into one big space by demolishing the party wall and to selectively demolish parts of the wall to open up the space. The counter, lighting fixtures, and fixed furniture were painted to a single colour to make it abstract and erase the name of Izakaya from the space. The only new material that was use was the flooring was the most apparent feature of the surrounding, asphalt was continued into the shop and identify the internal space and external space by the white lines on the floor. The café was able to establish itself as a true open café.

The furniture also incorporates the characteristic of the outdoor space. The bench was designed to mimic a bus stop bench and for the sofa, the car seats were modified and changed to become a sofa.

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Inside the café, similar to the driving school, the colour yellow have been placed in the café and it creates a feel that the café is a part of the driving school.

We designed the space so that the bar counter to became book shelves, and the Izakaya itself to a café and the activities of gathering, talking and drinking coffee made the it more like a café.

We used power of names in a paradoxical manner and found a new approach a design process in renovation works. We would like to start with no names in the process of designing in future.

Click above for larger image

Location: Numazu city, Shizuoka, Japan
Principal use: cafe
Construction Company: Kanou kenchiku
Structural Engineer: N/A
Main Structure: existing building
Site Area: N/A
Total floor area: 73.71sqm
Completion: December. 2010
Design period: May – September. 2010
Construction period: October 2010-November. 2010
Project team: Suppose design office | Makoto Tanijiri,
in-charge: Hajime Nagano

See also:

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Hatched by Outofstock	Chiswick House Gardens cafe by Caruso St John	West Beach Cafe by Asif Khan

Clustered pendant lights are suspended over one of the open food and drink preparation areas of this London restaurant by Chinese designers Neri&Hu.

The open-plan Pollen Street Social restaurant bridges together two previously separate buildings, spread out across the ground floor and basement.

Dining areas are furnished with wood panelled tables and booths, Chesterfield-inspired leather sofas and green glass lamps.

On the basement level, diners can see into the kitchen through a long horizontal slot window.

More restaurants and bars on Dezeen »

Photographs are by Pedro Pegenaute.

The following information is from Neri & Hu (NHDRO):

Recently completed: Pollen Street Social

Pollen Street Social, located in the prestigious Mayfair district of London, is the first independent restaurant by Jason Atherton, the Former Executive Chef at Gordon Ramsay’s Michelin starred Maze. Shanghai-based architectural firm Neri&Hu are the designers for the restaurant and Pollen Street Social represents their first completed project in London.

The term Social always refers to the interaction of organisms with other organisms and to their collective co-existence, irrespective of whether they are aware of it or not, and irrespective of whether the interaction is voluntary or involuntary. –Wiktionary

Neri & Hu’s design concept for Pollen Street Social examines the notion of “social” as a reorganization of the dynamic energies of human interaction.

Like navigating a conversation, the architectural spaces steer and negotiate the social relationships not only amongst guests, but also between diners and their food as it is prepared and served.

Within the confined basement and ground floor spaces of two disjointed historic buildings, the architects have woven a series of these social spatial experiences, from the Bar to the Main Dining Room or Private Dining Room to Atherton’s signature Dessert Bar. Placing those other functions such as the Show Kitchen, Service Station, and Back of House into strategic containers, the guests occupy the space in-between, a fluid zone celebrating the theatrics of eating, drinking, and socializing.

As with the start of any conversation, it is appropriate to begin with a gesture of courtesy, and Neri & Hu’s design for the restaurant’s façade is indeed a nod towards the historic structures surrounding the site. A series of blackened bronze metal frames act as a stitching strategy, redefining the restaurant’s threshold with a modern touch while maintaining the proportions and details of the existing façade. Within these frames, a combination of transparent and translucent glass ensures visual continuity between diners and the life of the street beyond.

Within the restaurant’s ground floor spaces the inviting atmosphere is reminiscent of entering the chef’s own home, and feels as easy as falling into familiar dialogue with an old friend. Through contemporary and abstracted re-interpretations of Old English details—the continuous wood wainscot wrapping each space, the Chesterfield-inspired banquettes, or the green glass P-Lamps at the bar—Neri & Hu has crafted an ambiance that is at once casually domestic yet still retaining the elegance of fine dining.

Dramatic ceiling openings above flood the spaces with light and mark special dining areas, while jeweled pendant lights scattered throughout captivate the eye as food delights the palate.

There is just the slightest pause in the flow of drinks and conversation as dining guests notice, through carefully carved apertures and aligned views, the stage that has been set in this theatrical dining experience. Through the architects’ willful juxtaposition of the disparate realms of food preparation and food consumption, such as the Finishing Kitchen just behind the Dessert Bar or the Service Station placed front and center in the Main Dining Room, these various spaces come alive as contradictions abound. The actions before them—the carving of an Iberico ham, the dabbing of sauce upon a plate, the practiced swirl of decanting wine—are initially, silently performed for their voyeuristic gaze, but then, with the first bite, the tables are turned and it is the diner that is now practicing a slow and deliberate choreography.

Like a chance encounter, the basement level is a pleasant discovery with its distinctive material palette of weathered brick floors and glass display cases. The Private Dining Room features wine fridges enveloping its perimeter, providing an enclosed yet visually open environment for intimate gatherings. A slotted view across the corridor into the Working Kitchen deliberately frames the hands of the chefs and pays homage to their skillful mastery of fine cuisine.

The restrooms on this level are contained within a frosted-glass enclosure with varying degrees of transparency, allowing glimpses of shadowy silhouettes and providing a moment of thrill and audacity. And as a final twist, the restrooms stalls themselves, clad solidly in wood, offer a chance to escape completely and disconnect entirely, should the anxieties of socializing overwhelm.

With their masterful manipulation of spatial elements and materiality, architects Neri & Hu have captured the vibrancy of a social dining atmosphere as envisioned by Chef Atherton—it flows with comfort and familiarity, while occasionally improvisational and unexpected, but which ever direction the conversation turns, Pollen Street Social is sure to be the talk of town.

The custom furniture and accessories pieces featured in the interiors are from neri&hu, a product brand spin-off from the architectural firm.

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Nottingdale Cafe by Found Associates	Restaurant at the RA by Tom Dixon	What Happens When by The Metrics

This Melbourne cafe by French designer Sasufi features a 12 metre-long wall covered in timber offcuts.

Tabletops at the Slowpoke Cafe are made from recycling floorboards and other furniture was sourced from local flea markets.

Wider blocks protruding from the wooden wall above each table create shelves for condiments.

More stories about cafes on Dezeen »

The following information is from Sasufi:

Slowpoke Cafe by Sasufi

Anne-Sophie Poirier is a French born and Melbourne based designer working under the name of Sasufi. She has recently completed the interior design and identity for Slowpoke Espresso, a café located in one of Melbourne’s most popular suburb, Fitzroy.

The budget being very small, it was a challenge to give the space a cozy feel and a strong identity while not having much money to do so.

The 12 meters long feature wall was created from timber offcuts collected from a variety of local furniture makers who use recycled timber themselves.

The variety of timbers species enhances the depth and warmth of the wall, giving a homely feel to the room.

The clean white walls also give the timber elements more prominence in the space.

Every so often a shelf comes out of the wall to display sugar bowls and salt above the tables.

Most building materials (tiles, lamp shades, street sign etc…) were gathered from local flea  markets.

The tables are made of recycled timber floors.

The sign is lite from the inside by a torch lamp that is charged by a connected solar panel sitting on the top of the recycled wooden tool box.

The business cards are made from recycled packaging cardboards, hand cut and then stamped.

The café serves quality organic food and coffee with a smile.

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Hatched by Outofstock	MS café by Wunderteam	Corso Place Franz Liszt by Robert Stadler