Ridola Caffè by Manca Studio.
23/07/2015.
[Matera] Italy.
metalocus, IRENE GARCÍA
metalocus, IRENE GARCÍA
This coffeshop design by Manca Studio takes the concept of tradition to start the project, reinterpreting elements such as rosettes or Lucanian arts and crafts to create a place to meet and reflection in which the structure and the original materials are partially visible in the vault and walls, reinforcing the idea of tradition.
Description of the project by Manca Studio
“Caffè Ridola in my view is a meeting place for thinking people, a cultural meeting place. There is a line of thought common to all that this place offers and which could briefly coincide with the concept dear to me of living slowly. The use of the site is not fast and guests have time to reflect on what they savor, not only food but also images, sounds and words. This is the concept that is the basis of the philosophy of the place.”
Matera, a locality with a complex history, which made its culture rich in tradition his springboard. “Tradition”, not surprisingly, is the key word for the design, which starting from a research on the ancient Lucanian arts and crafts can identify the precise needs of the client.
Located in the heart of Matera, the "Ridola" is a small and cozy cafè whose perception has been expanded with the help of a reflective glass on one of the short walls that surround the environment. Such mirrored glass has allowed to mask two screens that contribute to give a lively, dynamic and contemporary atmosphere to the place with their immaterial presence and no stop projection images.
However, what characterizes the project is the treatment of the surfaces of the walls which is entrusted with the task of reinterpreting the message conveyed by tradition; large rosettes, obtained from engraving plates in iron, recall the working of lace and tuff and thanks to a double wooden skin become containers and displays for hand made products, offered for sale by the owners. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming thanks to the use of light oak wood, used for flooring, for covering the counter and the tables; and it is embellished with a seemingly random succession of large lanterns contemporary. Only two materials, metal and wood to bring out the original structure in tuff left visible in the vault and emerging here and there on the walls.
CREDITS. DATA SHEET.-
Architects.- Marina e Alfredo Manca.
Project.- Café.
Client.- Private.
Area.- 70 sqm.
Date.- Completed in 2015.Location.- Matera, Italy.
Manca Studio was founded by Marina Manca (Bari 1976) and Alfredo Manca (Bari 1974) both graduated in architecture in 2004 from the University Federico II of Naples where, in the same year , working with the department of urban planning and environment. Since 2006, after an internship in the office of the architect Mauro Saito, start freelance with own studio in Matera, devoting himself to the creation from scratch and restructuring of shops, public buildings and private residences. Some of their projects have been published in national and international highlighting the activities in which integrate philological recovery of the past and craftsmanship with the use of advanced digital technology and the latest materials.