Terre Restaurant in Alicante, an elegant and self-absorbed night venue designed by Tarruella Trenchs

Next to Alicante´s marina, the Murri Group has opened a restaurant concept that also works as a restaurant, a bar, a wine cellar, and a cocktail bar. The main areas of the project include a central show kitchen, shared with Murri´s gastronomic restaurant, a cocktail bar, a wine bar, and a small stage. These elements work as an attraction from the outside and help define an elegant and self-absorbed night venue that is oriented towards the inside and looks to its own focal points.

Due to the fact that the restaurant is located in a corner and double height store, the first decision of the project for Tarruella Trenchs Studio was to create an L-shaped catwalk on the two rear walls that embrace the cocktail and wine shelves, and also delimits the open kitchen, enhancing the feeling of verticality, where a small stage was placed.

To enhance the activity of the venue throughout the day, we worked with a variety of tables and seating types placed at different heights. Having this in mind, we organized the space into two bars with spectacular shelves around them where customers may sit down to either eat or drink on a higher seat for casual dining and a slightly elevated dining area where guests may sit without losing the overall perspective of the space.

The stained oak wood floor, the suspended acoustical grid ceiling, and the slightly textured finish on the two walls work as the backdrop, where the main elements are placed. The low Baltic blue stonewall defines the perimeter of the elevated dining room on the corner, and on the inside, it delimits the areas designated for the cocktail and wine bars.

Upon entering the Terre restaurant, the cocktail area is found. It is predominated by impressive shelves made up of iron strips, backlit textured glazing, and brass. The black granite volume of the cocktail bar, that crosses the façade, and the high tables, made with Zimbabwe granite tabletops and metal legs, act as the link between the cocktail area and the outdoors.

On the opposite end of the room, a large volume containing a walnut shelf-cellar takes guests to the wine area, where customers can sit by the brown grain marble bar (with metal accents in bronze tones) on high tables or against the walnut bar that rests on the stonewall. Behind the bar, some walnut slats - having variable sections - and bronze metal sheets integrate the lower wine fridge and storage shelves above. These full height slats make up a lattice that allows glimpsing the wide-ranging wine cellar of the restaurant, as well as becoming a feature composed of sculptural profiles with slight metallic sheen, depending where the visitor is standing.

The geometric pattern of the ceramic tile rug, that is placed flush with the wood flooring, defines the location of the tall glossy walnut tables, where guests can interact in the activity of the show kitchen. The intersection between the elevated metal catwalk is solved with a vertical iron volume that houses a small stage to offer live music.

The 1950´s architectural inspiration is evident in both the design of the facade and the custom-made furniture, where grained stones, chromed legs, glossy varnishes on hardwood surfaces, and dark leather upholstery were used.

Tarruella Trenchs designed a swing set consisting of iron, brass and glass that emphasizes the verticality of the space and play different roles such as: glass and bottle rack on the wine bar, shelves on the stainless steel countertops at the kitchen, and lamps on communal tables framed by the ceramic tile rug.

With the same purpose of enhancing the verticality of the double height ceilings, the Studio designed some elongated suspended lamps, which were placed in a row over the cocktail bar to illuminate the worktop surface, and they were placed in clusters at different heights in the elevated dining room to embrace the space and make it more comfortable for the customers.

On the façade, the low stonewall reflects the interior layout, and the horizontal iroko wood slats protect the interior from direct sunlight, and make a pentagram that supports some light boxes of the outdoor signage.

Creative Directors: Sandra Tarruella y Ricard Trenchs
Project Leader: Anabel Cortina
Collaborators: Núria Martínez, Núria Calderón, Anna Torndelacreu, Olga Pajares, Mariona Guàrdia, Elsa Noms, Carmen Muñoz, Marc Julián

Information & images by courtesy of Tarruella-Trenchs Studio

Photos by Salva López

Read more news related Tarruella-Trenchs Studio published at Infurma

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