In previous times the city of Madrid had a beach – on the Manzanares’ bank just ten minutes away from the city center. Nowadays, it is the new restaurant of La Maruca which offers a marine-like spot in the heart of the capital. This alludes to the city of Santander, where the group of restaurants originated from; whilst paying homage to Santander’s rationalist architecture, taking inspiration from the “Isla de Torre” Sailing School or the Royal Maritime Club.
Project: La Maruca de López de Hoyos
Year: 2022
Team: Miguel Crespo Picot, Javier Guzmán Benito, Sixto Martín Martínez ZOOCO ESTUDIO (www.zooco.es)
Photographer: David Zarzoso
The project for the new La Maruca restaurant in Madrid was conceived as a play on exterior-interior spaces. Moreover, its aim was to create a subtle nautical atmosphere through-out, giving the diners a constant feel that the sea might peak out of any corner. Several band-like volumes curve along the main space, inviting the visitor to walk and promenade as a sort of pilgrimage through a pier, while admiring the display of traditional images of the Cantabrian city.
The materials that were selected are closely tied to its marine character: nautical teak-wood with black polymer-based joints, like the ones used on the decks of ships, as flooring in the passage areas; micro terrazzo with minerals in earth colors, as flooring in the living rooms; white polished cement as the finish of all the curved-interior volumes; teak-wood slats for the vertical elements of the project, such as columns and pillars; and lastly, smooth white ceilings, with high levels of sound absorption.
The material chosen for the interior faces of the ribbon-like bands is also noteworthy. The extreme slenderness of the ceramic pieces and their vertical placement allow us to perfectly adapt the cladding to the curved profiles of the volumes, providing a texture full of character. Thanks to a careful study of the horizontal lines of the project, a clear order is established which enhances the harmonization of the project and the comprehension of the space.
Another distinguished feature of the project are the bathrooms. These are elevated on a structure that extends beyond the limits of the enclosed perimeter and opens into its outdoor terrace, like a pier. Material-wise, they were designed using only two elements: teak-wood slats and a plinth of semicircular ceramic pieces of the same width as the slats.
The restaurant has a panoramic envelope: like a transparent box, the glass perimeter provides permeability and promotes the observation of the interior volumes from the outdoor environment. An integral system of wooden sliding doors allows for varying degrees of privacy and solar protection from the outside. However, nothing is hidden in the interior space. The spectacular open and exposed kitchen is ubicated in the center of the interior building, like an exposed ship’s engine room. This openness shows the confidence in the restaurant’s team’s performance and transparency towards the customer.
