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Architects: Denys & von Arend
- Area: 119 m²
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Photographs:Victor Hugo
Text description provided by the architects. The table is set!
Whenever you try to create a brand from scratch, to corporatize, beautify or modernize a concept traditionally associated to low costs and immediacy, as it is the case with take away food retail, there´s always the latent risk of snatching at the same time the personal aura, the crafty feeling and the accesible appeal this type of commercial establishments usually have. Therefore, the operation of transforming a former basement garage, in downtown Sabadell, into a catwalk for "Haute Cuisine Pret-a- Porter" was evidently raised from the very begining as a major challenge that nendeed to harmonize all contradictions that such merger of concepts arose, while space distribution and overall branding needed to fullfill the needs of two quite distinct activities, address two different audiences, and promote, simultaneously, two ways of consuming high-class catering and low cost gourmet dinners.
Over a typical check tablecloth, configured from a combination of black, white and striped porcelain tile, a public access area was arranged by placing at its core, a large custom made varnished chipboard chip counter desk. This unique piece of furniture, which adds warmth to the otherwise monochromatic atmosphere, embraces a glass refrigerated showcase where the dishes are displayed, in the manner of jewelry pieces, under the light beams emanating from five pendant lamps with white chef hats as screens. The black walls and ceilings seem to want to go unnoticed if not for the esparto grass rope striping that integrates them into the space, providing at the same time additional texture, symbolism, and through perspective, a feeling of greater space depth..
The individual bottle racks that dot these walls, along with its blackboard portion and its undeniable outspoken fate end up refuting the initial shyness of the envelope. Color and graphics in the shop resemble the corporate image system designed for the brand, and this in turn is closely related to the aesthetics of the place, since they were born in parallel. This symbiosis becomes evident in the facade, which combines the graphic pattern of the tablecloth, the logotype, the coporate"values" (instead of colors), the chipboard chip, the transparency of glass and specific lighting as a prelude to an experience which aims to stimulate all the senses.
