Raraterra | FADD Architects

From a former hemp factory to a contemporary restaurant: Rara Terra is a perfect mix between the industrial architecture that calls upon its history and the elegant and contemporary style typical of FADD Architects, a place that is a joy for the palate and the sense of smell, thanks to the presence of an herbarium in the external garden.

The FADD Architects firm has recently finished Rara Terra, a restaurant dedicated to revisiting Neapolitan cuisine.

Immediately outside Naples, situated within a former industrial estate, in what was a hemp factory, Rara Terra’s style evokes the atmosphere that preceded it, exploiting the memory of the past as a guide in the elaboration of the project.

The exposed brickwork and the stones and coverings in strong, warm colors give life to an internal space that has a family feel to it, with domestic traits and is characterized by walnut wood boiserie on the walls and by the presence of a Viennese wicker sofa in front of the fireplace.

The outside, instead, is distinguished by the presence of a raised teak platform with an arbor indicating the continuation of the dining room. Lower down, the industrial cement floor mixes with the rich vegetation of the garden, welcoming tables covered by sails tied among the trees. In fact, a peculiarity of the projects is the presence of an officinal herbs garden, used on a daily basis by the kitchen while preparing foods and beverages.

The first structural prompt was dictated by the varying natural light and was aimed at satisfying the client’s request to attain the fruition of the space both during the day and during evening hours.

Particular attention is also dedicated to the lighting project, through the choice of warm lights which make the food the protagonist, accompanied by diffuse led lighting that exalts the materials’ surfaces.

The use of wall tiles with an imperfect shiny surface allows light to vibrate within the space, exalting the tones of the marble-cement floor which recalls the past atmosphere.