FOGO | El Equipo Creativo

Fogo, "fire” in Brazilian, is a restaurant with two distinct gastronomic proposals that create two spaces that are conflicting but complementary at the same time.

BRIEFING

For our client, it was not only important that FOGO, “fire” in Brazilian, be appreciated as a restaurant, but also as a representative of Brazilian culture which endeavors to act as a culinary embassy and catalyst of events in the city of Barcelona.

DUALITY
Brazil is a country of contrasts and, as such, from the very beginning of the project we dealt with dual concepts: tradition – modernity; color – monochrome; nature – concrete. The site which embodies this duality is composed of two floors: a long, narrow ground floor which hosts Boteco Fogo offering popular Brazilian cuisine; and an upper floor where Alquimia Fogo offers avant garde Brazilian cuisine. The two floors offer opposite yet complimentary experiences both referencing to Brazil. As in alchemy, results are generated through the combination of contrary elements: earth, wind, fire and water. 

SPACE AND DISTRIBUTION

Boteco Fogo
The layout of the ground floor was clearly a determining factor as its public exposure was limited by its long, narrow shape and the presence of an elevator (lift) on the façade. It was decided that the service and communication elements would be grouped together in order to make more space available and that they would be enveloped in a rhythmic latticework of blanched wood which, strategically illuminated, would serve as the required reference to fire.
On the outside we are met by a two story atrium which houses the lift and vertically connects the two Fogo´s. Once inside, the bar and the staircase accompany us along the ground floor, introducing the “fire effect” to the site and blurring the limits between the interior and exterior spaces. The bar breaks into two blocks, thereby reducing its scale in order to adapt to the reduced dimensions of the space where it is located.
Inside we encounter Boteco Fogo, an informal and lively place where the most authentic and popular Brazilian cuisine is served, accompanied by designer cocktails. The walls are covered by a mixture of prints with vegetal and geometric textures, creating an explosion of color reminiscent of Brazil. Wooden frames elevate these graphic elements to a more artistic level and help us relate them to different pieces of the furniture which are also made with the same dark grained wood. In consonance with its carefree atmosphere, the bathroom of Boteco Fogo offers a humorous reference to the guest, taking him/her to the most profound reaches of the Brazilian jungle.

Alquimia Fogo
On the upper floor, we find Alquimia Fogo, offering cutting edge gastronomy from the Brazilian avant garde. Its dishes are creative compositions full of textures and colors which we wanted to highlight as the protagonists of a global experience, enveloping them in a very white, ethereal space. White textured fabrics hang at different levels creating a continuous, light, vertical wrapping effect. By means of the low illumination and the superposition of different fabrics, we achieve subtle variations within the range of whites, adding rhythm and depth. The wrapping allows us to make out the activity going on in the kitchen, which is situated in the center of the dining area.
The references evoking the world of Brazil are subtle shadows of vegetal elements which dot the hanging fabrics creating an abstract landscape that combines and entwines with real, dried vegetation. Within this light, sheer wrapping, the tables become the principal protagonists. Round, in intense tones of wood and carefully illuminated and decorated with vegetal details, the tables are scattered naturally among the different structural elements of the space, creating intimate nooks. Arriving at the bathrooms, the landscape changes once again. We find the elements of water – represented by textured glass - and fire - represented by golden, lit wood. Combined they create, as in alchemy, a space of great warmth.