Gold Winner of the Houzee Awards 2023
Architect / Designer:
Ana Padilla Valdivieso- Marcos Marinas Ollero
Studio:
Aima Studio
Design Team:
Ana Sánchez Marcos
Copyright:
Luzestudio
Country:
Spain
“From the city to the forest” The objective in this project was to transfer the sensations that are experienced in the Omaña valley in the mountains of the Leonn region to the city. The restaurant would be “La Senda de Omaña”. With this design, we wanted to create the feeling of walking down a forest path. Eat in the shelter of trees and nature. To achieve this feeling, we use biophilic design resources. We incorporate natural plant elements such as plants, moss and tree trunks from sustainable logging. We use sustainable and recycled materials such as wood and stone for wall coverings, furniture and decorative lamps. As it could not be otherwise, the vegetation is also the main part and protagonist of the project, being present in different forms and places in the premises. In the first place, and with a special role, are the tree trunks that were installed covering all the large front windows of the premises on the inside. These trunks protect the space from sunlight, favoring shadows in central hours and recreating the “forest” effect that we wanted. The trunks surround the entire restaurant room in the areas where it connects with the outside and create the sensation of finding yourself looking at a poplar forest from the warmth of your shelter. These tree trunks come from areas of sustainable felling, actually being the branches left over from pruning. Specifically, the ones we found in “La Senda” were collected from a plantation in Segovia, where branches are pruned for the timber industry and used for compost or firewood. Another very important example of vegetation is the large vertical garden that we find on the front wall as we enter the restaurant. It is framed in the main wall of the premises and it is a garden of freeze-dried natural mosses, which with its greenness and characteristic smell reminds us of the one that forms on the rocks and takes us a little deeper into the sensation we were looking for. The colors in all the elements were chosen from the palette of colors that can be seen on the mountain: browns, browns and greens. In the central area of the premises we built a small wooden shelter reminiscent of the mountain cabins to give a cozy touch over the bar. We include elements that will remind the fauna and flora of the mountain of León. In wallpapers and decorative elements you can see representations of animals, such as bears, wolves and deer. – To recreate the sensations on a forest path, the 4 senses worked: hearing, touch, sight and smell. Leaving the 5th sense, taste, to the food served in the restaurant. For the senses of touch, sight and smell, with the use of natural materials and the inclusion of plant elements, we make you feel that you are closer to nature, smelling and touching plants. For the sounds, an acoustic absorption study was carried out on the ceiling and walls, and certain sounds were included.
Aima Studio
Interior Design and Architecture studio founded in 2010. The objective of the study has always been to create unique spaces that through design improve the experience of people within them. We explore new forms of sustainable, biophilic and sensory design that provide user experiences and value natural materials, sustainable processes and the sensations that can be created through interior and/or exterior design.
We have as values in our projects natural materials, personalized and custom work, the revaluation of crafts, sustainability, materials from local and nearby sources, the search for new sensations and improve well-being of people through design.