It just had to be a studio based in Turin – lamatilde – to design the Fiat500Café (and, also in Turin, on the riverbank, the rebirth of the Porto Urbano), a place for recreation in the absolute sense of the term: we’re at the top of the Lingotto, immersed in the work by Renzo Piano, right next to the track (Pista 500) that was used for test drives by the automaker in the 1920s. A place completely steeped in design and architecture.
Lamatilde has intervened with great delicacy on a space that is not so large, next to the place of memory connected with the Fiat 500, a space where the boundary between the enjoyable and the banal is practically invisible, and where a gathering place ran the risk of being overwhelmed by its surroundings that narrate over 100 years of history.
Instead, with creativity based on simple but harmonious gestures, the partners in charge of lamatilde, Luca Macrì and Michele Cafarelli, have developed a project and a narrative with great respect and tact, corresponding to the interpretations of the principles of the genius loci: a black perforated sheet metal shell – like the bodywork of a car – wraps the space of the café and spontaneously regulates its boundaries, seamlessly terminating on one side with the bar, and on the other with a lounge area.
The wrapper is transformed into a work of architecture that is “seen but not heard,” containing simple furnishings that don’t try to steal the stage from the context. The outdoor area echoes the concept of simple materials found in the interiors, with long slender iron tables that accompany visitors towards the Pista 500 ring, leading to a green promenade that will host installations. Fiat500Café, where recreation meets creation.
All photos, unless otherwise stated © Alessandro Saletta – DSL Studio
