Territorial trespass, culinary contamination and cultural interaction are the ingredients at the Spica restaurant, consumed first of all with the eyes. Hyperstimulated by a visual grammar nimbly built by the chromatic materials of the incisive graphics of Vescom wallpapers, saturated and bright finishes, the solid volumes of the furnishings and the ‘mirrored’ wit of Maurizio Cattelan in the restrooms.
The venue avowedly takes its cue from the cultural intertwining promoted by Milanese Postmodernism – of which Sottsass was a leader with his passion for India – and at the same time from the more sober, rigorous yet sentimental elegance of Franco Albini. Above all, the project references the explosive sense of freedom associated with travel.
We’re in the glamorous, multicultural Milan of Porta Venezia, inside a former auto body shop with large windows on the street and the internal courtyard, which open completely and feature colorful curtains that suggest the chromatic universe of the interior.
Inside there are clear signs of the past – like the terrazzo flooring and a wall taken back to its natural state to display the layers of time – in dialogue with fluo jabs of diamonds, dots and geometric patterns, in the wallcoverings by Vescom.
These surfaces are everywhere, strategically framing the spaces of the cocktail bar inspired by the Milanese venues of the 1960s at the entrance, the lounge furnished with round tables and chairs that reference the famous Luisa model by Albini, and the area for socializing, with an extremely flexible arrangement of the tables, large lamps designed by Andrea Anastasio, and a cabinet used as a service station, functioning to create an evocative garden corner with wood floors and plants placed on gravel.
Credits
Total project area: 350 m2 ca.
Restaurant and bar: about 160 m2
Project: Vudafieri-Saverino Partners, Tiziano Vudafieri and Claudio Saverino
Seating: chairs by Pierre Cronje; stools, lounge chairs and outdoor chairs by Portsidecafe
Wallpapers: by Vescom, customized with design by Vudafieri-Saverino Partners
Tables: indoors, custom pieces by Vudafieri-Saverino Partners; outdoors, by Maison du Monde
Lamps: custom suspension lamps by Andrea Anastasio; catalogue items by Foscarini, Tooy; restaurant spotlights and kitchen: Zumtobel
Tiles: CE.SI
Mirrors: Seletti
Photo ©Nathalie Krag
