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Architects: BARAKI
- Area: 80 m²
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Matthieu Croizier
Text description provided by the architects. Are cooking and architecture so different? The Jajaffe restaurant transformation project is not a simple space renovation, but rather the result of a collaborative and participatory approach between the construction trades and the culinary community. A collaboration between two seemingly distant worlds, but which are perhaps not so distant after all.
The contractors, clients, and architects worked exclusively in situ, without ever really drawing up the project. Instinctive discussions, raw creativity, and cunning solutions have brought the project to fruition. The new kitchen, once hidden behind walls, has now been unveiled. One of the focal points of the layout of the creative space is the link between the production of the dishes and the tasting experience in the dining room. Jajaffe offers a glimpse of this special moment in the making of dishes, through an unprecedented sensory experience: sight, smell, sound, and touch.
Depending on seasonal inspirations and local or carefully sourced raw materials, the dishes in Jajaffe's kitchen are surprising. In a similar process, the architectural project put in place found all the materials, furniture, and objects sourced second-hand or from recycling and salvaging. This catalog ultimately dictated the direction of the project, creating in turn an intriguing new world. The project reinterprets the codes of period restaurants: a wooden floor, raised walls, eccentric ceiling lights, and creaky chairs. It's a place that's warm and inviting, but intriguingly contemporary and misappropriated, mixing regulars and close friends alike to create a real social hub. The choice of materials, furniture, and objects was based on their availability or discovery at the time of execution. The architectural language stems directly from these constraints and represents the image of that moment, like a time capsule. In another time frame, the project would have been imagined differently, with the materials available at the time.
The importance of the gravitating community, having engaged with the project, is reflected in the outcome of the space: inclusive and welcoming. This proximity between the culinary establishment and the individuals provides better social integration for the neighborhood, creating an important space for sharing in a context of heterogeneous urban density. Ultimately, the restaurant becomes an extension of home.
