Don Gennaro restaurant | primo atelier

Don Gennaro Restaurant is a pilot project intended to become a catering reality in the Arabian Peninsula and the World with the aim of merging two apparently different cultures.
The project has been followed and deepened in all directions, from architectural design to branding, always referring to both cultures in search of a new balance.

 The Don Gennaro Restaurant project aims at a synthesis of forms and matter between Italian and Arab-Kurdish culture. The design idea consists in configuring the space as a succession of rooms, defined through the repetition of lowered arches, in an attempt to build the image of a "palace" and design an environment with a precious but at the same time domestic atmosphere. On the ground floor we find the bar and lounge area, on the upper floor the rooms, the cellar, the services and the kitchens.

To create greater privacy between the rooms and ensure greater flexibility of the spaces, the thresholds are characterized by a series of separation elements, fixed or sliding, including glass panels with a core of metal mesh brass or curtains.

Each room is characterized by a white metal mesh ceiling, curved as if they were a soft curtain, able to enrich the lighting system and create interesting effects of light and shade in the space to achieve a pleasant, relaxing and varied atmosphere.
The division of the space is underlined by the composition of the marble floors, with stone carpets in Carrara marble and Fior di Bosco to differentiate the rooms from the threshold spaces.

Behind the wooden arches, the hand-fluted Carrara marble slabs vibrate the walls with a millerighe effect. All the marbles have been treated and opaque to give the room a more contemporary look, despite the references to Italian classicism and Arabic style, which have been merged into a new balance.

 In fact, even the choice of the brand "Don Gennaro", was made alongside the architectural project; from naming, the creation of the logo, the choice of mise en place, everything is designed to create a match between the architectural space and the commercial image of the restaurant. The coherence and the recognizability, in fact, are the basis of this contract project, destined to become a symbol of Italian culture in the Arabian Peninsula.