MARIO FRAU, ARCHITECT, LANDSCAPE AND LIGHTING DESIGNER

Over time, the design of bars and restaurants has developed, requesting an original and... Image that has replaced the impersonal aspect that distinguished them until a few years ago... The internal distribution, the proportions between the elements, especially the kind of furniture and lighting choice for a bar or restaurant are now the primary elements those define its atmosphere, from time to time animated and cheerful, deliberately simple or very intimate. A place in the heart (historic center) of Como, a stone's throw from the lake it is a unique opportunity, as well as its morphological features, the project provided after the complete renovation of what once was a building of stone structure attributable to the Romanesque period (between X and XI century), to design an interior that was modern, but respectful and aware of the presence and of the history of the city.

So originality and innovativeness (etchings on the wall) had to deal with membership to the memory of the place (stone walls of Moltrasio); strategy, which has seen its application, as well as in name, also in the use of materials and other signs that are found in the interior. The part of the room open to the public spread mostly on the ground floor except for a room at a lower level, this because originally every building in its execution was equipped with a deposit to keep cool and keep the food for the whole season. On the first floor have been added services necessary to operation of this place connected to the ground floor through a dumb waiter. In fact there are a room to wash dishes and pans, the kitchen that interfaces with another space on the ground floor kitchen, a room with refrigerator in variable temperatures to maintain separate meat, fish and vegetables, in addition to the baths and changing rooms of staff.

Other interesting spots were placed in the bathroom with a reference to the Council of Trento (from 1545 to 1563) through a phrase written in Latin around a distorting mirror that says "idest cognosco te ipsum" as in Buonconsiglio Castle in Trento, in this juncture, behind bars, ended up only the finest wines that the restaurant offers to its customers in a space called "the corner of the wine prison". Other significant elements of furniture are: the bar that glows almost raising from the ground, the splash of color on the walls in keeping with the choice of chairs; plywood covered in wenge tables with one central leg and of design. Nothing left to chance also in items, so the coffee is served in trasparent cups, food in white delicate and elegant dishes, with tapered cutlery and semiround crystal glasses.

A highly qualified service was given in lighting project, that is developed with the logic to create a changing and relaxing light and it is evolved with the progress of architectural design. "Light without luminaires", this was the aim in the dining rooms, solved by a sequence of thin and modern blades of light, with formal and straightforward language; the result was an elegant fusion with the architecture, but without catching the eye. Upon completion, an intelligent control system Digital Bus, allowed, commanding four probes in the various rooms, to regulate the exchange of air between the interior / exterior and to purify it with a water system. This intelligent device also controls security (antitheft), the cooling / heating, gas leak detection system (antifire), and the sound and lighting system.

The coordination of these functions through the home automation system has very simplified some of the actions that are daily in a bar and avoided a series of energy waste due to forgetfulness or to other situations. Last but not least it allowed to dominate the ‘artificial' light with the creation of the four pre-stored situations in accordance with the weekly needs and presence in the bar, increasing efficiency and saving energy and making flexible the installation; these planned suggestive effects create those sets of light that were in designer‘s mind, because "the light is not always the same"...

Restaurant

Characteristic Restaurant

Center of Como - Italy

LOCANDA BARBAROSSA: INTERIOR AND LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PUBBLIC PLACE

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Info Web: VERSIONE ITALIANA

Info Web: ENGLISH VERSION

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