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Architects: Rare Studio Experimental
- Area: 4 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Ema Blom
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Manufacturers: 3DI, Crislu, Fixed, La Puntual Marmolería, Piazza x Espacio concretto
Prosthesis. Caffe del Popolo is one of those experiments that arise in spaces that are often understood as unusable or obsolete in the city. The project was carried out in a triangular void between two blocks of apartments in the Nueva Córdoba neighborhood. A perception of compression by its context triggered the initial exploration for the design of this enclosure, which from the beginning was conceived as an object capable of fitting into the void, as an "urban prosthesis". The project proposes a way to enter a dense urban environment and to generate action from it towards the city.
Fluidity. The insertion of such a small space surrounded by such large buildings imposed the idea of compression on the different explorations carried out throughout the process. Perhaps it is also the liquid, dynamic and fluid perception of the corner location and the current times that commanded the formal actions of the project. The fluidity in terms of use also determined design actions with the question of how to generate a space that is as open as possible towards the street on the ground floor level.
Material Exploration. A metallic base with a guillotine opening was used, capable of achieving a maximum connection towards the street without neglecting the functional requirements. In the interior space, a routed and lacquered wood cladding was created by the means of digital fabrication, inspired both in its color and in its formal composition by the coffee plant. An existing metal structure was used for the upper levels with five fibreglass panels. These panels protect two of the levels towards the inside: one with a bathroom and the other with a deposit.
The Street. Using the street was a fundamental premise, not only because of the reduced interior space, but also because the intention was to provide that transit space of the street with a pause, a space for contemplation, taking advantage of what the urban landscape of Córdoba offers in the area, such as the residential building by the architect Ignacio Togo Diaz, the Cultural Avenue Buen Pastor, the church La Iglesia de Los Capuchinos and the Baoro Building by the architect Osvaldo Ponz. An interior/exterior support surface was created on the cafe's façade, a platform where two mobile metal stools are located, and fixed urban furniture (Rarx Bench) made of concrete and metal, located on the curb of the sidewalk. The Rarx benches symbolically synthesize the core idea of the project, contemplating material, formal and functional reflections in relation to public space.
