La Maruca de la Castellana | ZOOCO Estudio

The project addresses the rehabilitation and implementation of the second restaurant of La Maruca in Madrid city. The project is ubicated on a large property with a very tight budget per square meter.

The starting point of the design was focused on the search for economic resources that can be adapted to the multiple situations and circumstances of the inherited property. As we did not have the possibility of a complete refurbishment, we had to work on the space by overlapping new elements on top of the existing ones.

The two main resources were the following: a perimeter band of variable height with a ceramic tile according to the needs and the repetition of the square as a geometric shape.

The perimeter ceramic protects the walls from bumps and friction. It is composed of a 1: 2 rectangular matte white ceramic tile. Due to its proportions, it allowed us to play with the different directions in different surfaces, always making a full-piece encounter in between surfaces

This ceramic band dialogues and supports the second element, the wooden profile. Through these profiles, we generate an interior modulation using the square as the main geometry. We created the back-bar and the over-bar structures with this system of wooden slabs. We redesign existing elements of the original property by creating the shelving for a fireplace or a grid for illuminated photos.

The last design resource allows us to divide the space in a perceptively way, not visually: Suspended metalic meshes. This meshes confine different environments such as the bar, lounge, or reserved áreas and make them more welcoming to the clients. However, these meshes does not block the visual depth throughout the whole project.