Cocina Hermanos Torres

I would love to visit this new restaurant in Barcelona, Cocina Hermanos Torres (The Torres Brothers' Kitchen) because of its unique design. Instead of putting the kitchen at the rear or off to the side, it occupies center stage, thus rendering this a "kitchen with a restaurant" as the owners think of it. Food preparation is the focus of the experience, making patrons part of the performance when their food is brought to table.

I love restaurants that have open kitchens. One of my favorites is Chez Panisse, ground zero for the American culinary movement that started in the 70s. It's in Berkeley, California, right here in my own backyard, and I have had many, many exquisite meals there over the years. And I love watching the kitchen staff cook...the atmosphere is languid, gentle, no one is in a rush, no one shouts. There is a serenity and sense of respect for the process of preparing food and presenting it with love and attention to detail. The meal is an experience and not just a way to ingest sustenance. If you go, try to request to sit near the kitchen. And if you arrive for the first seating, perhaps you will get the treat I have received several times over the years: perhaps your maitre d' will say, "They are just taking the squab off the spit, would you like to see?" and invite you to step into the kitchen for an up-close look...

http://www.cocinahermanostorres.com/

Barcelona...

...with broken hearts, we send you sympathy and love.

Yes, it just keeps coming. Cities around Europe and around the world under siege from outside forces and ideologies. But in the United States, we turn on each other, on ourselves...

Enigma, Barcelona

Take a look at this absolutely phenomenal restaurant conceived of and owned by avant-garde chef Albert Adrià in Barcelona called, appropriately enough, Enigma. The design, by 2017 Pritzker Prize winning-firm RCR Arquitectes, is based on a watercolor rendering of the project. The firm, along with chef Adrià decided to run with the misty, cloudy form language and create a space that is frozen, enigmatic, one that melts and disappears. To achieve this look, the design firm teamed with solid surface manufacturing company TheSize which makes a new sintered stone product called Neolith. RCR Arquitectes asked TheSize to apply a single watercolor design to the surface of the entire space, something that had never been done before. The design had to be digitally laid out across  all the tiles on the floor.

Here is an overhead shot of one area of the restaurant which shows a nice view of the watercolor design.

The rest of Enigma took its cue from this amorphous idea with textured glass panels like ice walls obscuring the view of the room, and a ceiling treatment that gives the impression of being under a glacier. The resin chairs and tables also look like frozen water, giving this space a truly magical appearance.

Of course the design extends into the open kitchen. It is amazing how something as functional as the kitchen can look so sleek and in keeping with the concept of the space. The dripping watecolor striations clad the base units and the hood units as well as walls.

Naturally, the bathroom is a perfect representation of the concept too...just stunning.

http://www.enigmaconcept.es/

BLOCD Pantone Chocolate

As a gift for their clients, graphic design firm BLOCD in Barcelona riffed on the Pantone color scale to create a box of gradated chocolates with names like one would find on a Pantone chart.

http://blocd.com/

(fos) by (fos)

This clever and humorous brand/architectural installation shows what a bit of imagination and many rolls of yellow gaffe tape can accomplish.
I love how the creators of this whimsy made a camera on the ground across the street to show the optimal photo angle!

From the website of the creation team:

"(fos) is the name of the first ephemeral installation by the multidisciplinary team (fos).

It means light in Greek and melted in Catalan.
In this project has been represented by a skin that covers both vertical and horizontal surfaces.

The protected facade of the vegan restaurant Rayen at Lope de Vega street in Madrid has been illuminated for 4 days and nights by more than 250ml of yellow tape, painted décor items, pineapples and... a lamp. A visual game between perspective and colored volumes that gained the looks."

And it deserved to gain the looks! Simple but so effective.

http://cargocollective.com/somosfos/Work

BEAUTY: Interiors--Hotels

Highlights from some amazing design projects in the world of hospitality, via Interior Design.

Copper light pendants by Tom Dixon mingle with copper pots at 5-Cinco, the Paco Perez restaurant located in the Hotel Stue in Berlin.

Arch modern elements at the Room Mate Pau Hotel in Barcelona, designed by Teresa Sapey:

The bar with a constellation of colorful lanterns and the lobby with slat framework structures at the Generator Hotel, Barcelona:

And on my next trip to Iceland, I must stay at the Ion Luxury Adventure Hotel. The cantilevered lobby, the covered heated pool, and views of the Aurora are all stunning.

http://www.5-cinco.com/
http://www.patriciaurquiola.com/
http://pau.room-matehotels.com/index.php/en
http://www.teresasapey.com/
http://generatorhostels.com/en/
http://www.ioniceland.is/
http://www.minarc.com/