NuBel, the restaurant and café that by chance lies under the jutting red belly of the Reina Sofia auditorium, attracts and welcomes visitors seeking visual and symbolic continuity in their preferred design.
The idea of More&co’s Paula Rosales restores a “family” air not apparent in Jean Nouvel’s intervention, having to deal with a difficult starting combination of granite cladding, the reflective surface of the covers and the already powerful theatricality of the cherry-coloured chamber. Careful study led to a “sensual and feminine” design capable of interacting with the place and yet stand freely on its own.
The architects devised a flexible space, starting from the shape of a circle. As the basic geometry, the flame, a symbol of universal unity that here alludes to a double form of fullness: the first referring to food and the second to the colours that saturate the compositional elements.
All the furniture, the bar counter, the lighting and the carpets were designed by the More&co Studio, systematically banishing straight and angular lines. Even the floor absorbs the concentric echo with the decorative application of varnish. The vibrant atmosphere is permeated with the principle of formal and tonal repetition.
The restaurant/café has no perimeter other than that visually dictated by the colour uniformly applied to tables, chairs, sofas, benches, poufs and even lamp shades.
We can make out atolls, mostly yellow, orange and in the green of lush plants, the most intimate red protected by the protuberance of the roof and blue, favoured in the patio alongside the monumental sculpture of Roy Lichtenstein.
Credits:
Client: Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid
Interior design: Paula Rosales
Collaborators: More&co Design (Cristina Felipe, Artemisa Espinosa, Alicia Velázquez, Natalia Escudero, Nain Homes, Diego de la Nuez, Alfredo Domenech, Lilian Flores)
Acoustics: Alejando Sansegundo
Furnishings: Paula Rosales Design; BMC, Conotraluz, KP, Vescom
Lighting: Toni Rueda
Photo Credits: Santi Burgos
