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Pasteria
By : Claudia Ornelas
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 17th edition
Discipline : Interior Design
Categories : Accommodation, Restaurant & Bar / Restaurant > 1,600 sq.ft. (> 500 sq. m.) : Gold Certification
La Pastería is a Mediterranean-style restaurant located in Querétaro at the foot of the highway. It was built over eight months and can accommodate 109 diners, designed for local patrons or travelers on the way to the town of San Miguel de Allende.
The original premises is a warehouse with high ceilings of sheet metal supported by metal structures, wooden beams, and ample spaces with all the fixtures exposed. In contrast, the facade is constructed entirely of glass from floor to ceiling and supported by grillwork.
The interior remodeling concept was based on warmth and coziness, qualities that epitomize the essence of the restaurants of the client who hired us to design the space.
We explored different styles that could adapt to the industrial space, as well as the type of food that would be served (Italian) and drew our inspiration from the Mediterranean. We started with textures found in the walls and cobbled streets of Spanish alleyways, as well as classic colors from French and Italian provinces. We understood that it was important for the finishes, particularly the carpentry and upholstery, to present an antique or aged look that could blend with the original materials that show the passage of time of this industrial venue without falling into caricature.
The carpentry arose out of our collaboration with two different workshops to produce prototypes of doors and moldings. We experimented with different stains, varnishes and finishes to achieve the desired appearance.
One of the most important challenges of the project was to control and manage the scale of the premises to produce a more welcoming environment. This was achieved by using suspended chandeliers that give the sensation that this refurbished warehouse is not so high. We also painted all the exposed fixtures in a black tone to redirect patrons’ views toward the interior space, from the light fixtures downwards.
Another strategy to reduce the scale and achieve warmth and intimacy was to divide the large open space into four different rooms. The main lounge in the center is the first setting, surrounded by five additional spaces. There is an open booth area, another area of booths covered by arches with tables inside, a bar area, a semi-open kitchen, and a private room for 12 people. The variety of settings amplifies the sensation of intimacy.
The design of the restaurant’s outdoor seating played an important role in completely separating the restaurant from the noise and dust of the road. The patio, re-imagining landscapes of central Italy, was delimited with Tzalam wood walls to enclose it and serve as a transition area.
The result is a garden made up of nursery-grown olive trees more than 30 years old, lavender, salvias and local rosemary, and varieties of plants that grow with wild abandon that do not require much maintenance and that help to generate that cozy Mediterranean atmosphere for outdoor diners.
Combined with the installation of a fountain carved out of local quarry stone, this helped to reduce the noise of cars and visual pollution, making us forget that the restaurant is located on the roadside.
Likewise, an airlock was designed for the entry to ease the transition and integration of the patio and the restaurant interior.
Upon entering the restaurant, diners are greeted in the main hall with a vista of the different spaces, all with different levels of privacy. The floor is made of an engineered oak stave with an oiled finish for easy maintenance, as well as a 60 cm perimeter border of black and white hexagonal tile that helps to delimit the space from the rest of the rooms.
The tables in this space are made of Viscount White granite with a dove-breasted edge and the chairs are bistro-style, respecting the characteristic style of the franchise but without exaggerating the finishes, to avoid theatricality.
The lighting on the walls is made of opaque glass and brass with walnut wood details and was designed by a local workshop.
The perimeter wall of the interior enclosure is made of a 2 cm thick facade of exposed brick which, with the help of touch-ups with a mixture of light mortar and lime prior to sealing, gives the appearance of being a recovered and worn brick with a herringbone pattern.
On the access side, this serves to completely enclose the garden space, allowing the floor-to-ceiling exterior glass window on the inside to look like a solid wall with an upper window. This creates a second level of containment or privacy facing the road, without adding substantial weight to the facade.
Two spaces rest within this same wall. The first is composed of four round booths made of fine-grain Durango pine and upholstered with caramel-colored leather upholstery. They are embraced by planters filled with Lion Claws, Ferns and large-leafed Pothos, which require little maintenance and thrive indoors in low sunlight. Mirrors were also hung on that side of the wall to reflect the bar and the rest of the room.
The other section is composed of three arches with recovered brick finishes that are built into the wall. They contain tables with booths for four people, constructed in the same style as the round ones on the other side of the room. These arches, illuminated by lamps suspended over the tables, provide a more intimate ambience, since the diner is immersed in a lower height, and because the acoustics are different owing to the space dynamics.
The bar is located on one side of the booths. It is composed of a black steel structure four meters high, with an Absolute Black granite top and leather finish, crowned by leafy elements that lend a particular character to the whole room. The back bar repeats the element of the three arches, integrating shelves of recovered Durango Pine wood with a thick-grained finish and stain, giving it an antique and worn look.
The bar is the central space of the entire restaurant and helps articulate the different environments of the restaurant. As the main visual highlight, it reflects the intended design of balancing the Mediterranean-style proposal with the industrial character of the winery to provide a cozy ambience that does not lose the original factory touch.
At the other end of the living room, the private dining area houses a table for 12 people. It features a reticulated steel partition that provides privacy and intimacy and can be integrated by opening or closing its sliding doors with linen curtains.
This area is hung with black and white photographs of places in Europe and old family portraits, making it even more homey. This style is replicated throughout the walls of the restaurant, both in the booths and in the bar.
The wine cellar is located on one side of the bar and consists of a glass box with a light steel structure, which indirectly forms part of the private area. On one side, it provides a view of the wines and spirits offered by the restaurant, while the other side faces a corridor that leads to the restrooms, offering an interesting tour that goes beyond its function.
The kitchen, located to one side of the bar, completes the style, with a two-tone black and white awning at the top and a half-height partition wall with a ceramic finish. As the franchise hallmark, it evokes the facades of typical Mediterranean restaurants.
The bathrooms use a blue-gray color applied in 3 different textures: paint, tile, and door lacquer. The starting point was the tone of the tiles that make up the baseboard, which was sent as a sample to the Sayer L. factory where they developed the tone for the wall paint, lacquer for the door carpentry and the furniture for under the sinks.
The floor of this space features the same material as the border of the main hall, providing a sensation of continuity while separating the different environments. This flooring serves to highlight circulations and services.
The booths, both round and straight, the private dining table, the carpentry of the bathrooms, and all the service furniture were custom-made for the project. We worked with two local carpentry shops and an upholstery shop in Guadalajara, Jalisco.
The experimentation in the finishes to integrate the industrial and Mediterranean style, apparently opposites, the layout of the interior environments, and the design of an enclosure completely isolated from the exterior, make this project unique, offering a cozy and elegant restaurant in a space where it would be unimaginable.
Collaboration
Manufacturer - Distributor : La tabla muebles
