The first thing that comes to mind when you think of a cafe or restaurant, is chairs and tables or booth seating along plain walls, that are functional and basic. Portugese Architect Íris Cantante, chose to take different approach in her design for a cafe/restaurant in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Fiii Fun House features a variety of different areas for both adults and children to enjoy.
Heres how she describes it,
This is a café, restaurant, playroom (with people who take care of the kids) and party salon in Buenos Aires. A place were both kids and grownups could enjoy, have fun and relax at the same time, were all feel comfortable and integrated.
The challenge was to make all these ideas live together in the same place, and merging them with harmony. The building has 2 different floors. In the ground floor is the Café Restaurant and play space for kids and in the first floor the party salon, for private events.
In the ground floor the restaurant /café and the playroom is divided by a wood fence, so that the kids can be controlled by a kind of governess and the adults can control them by a eye glimpse.
The wood houses, the 3 Fun Houses, divide and control the open space, generating different zones, with different moods.
House 1- a cozy and reserved communal table for adults. House 2- a playroom for babies, were they can play safe with didactic games.
House 3- a didactic table for kids were they can draw, cut and use their imagination. I felt that using swings instead of chairs will help and encourage them to fell more relaxed and free so they can get loose in their imagination.
The idea was to create a global concept. A funny, beautiful and stylish place, were everybody felt comfortable! The architect drew almost every piece of furniture exclusively for the place.
The use of wood (mostly local) helped to create a cozy, comfy and calm site, at the same time that helped with the sound rebound. The use of cork in the play area and in the party salon was a natural alternative to solve the sound rebound issues and loudness of the kids.
For those grownups that want to get loose in the playful spirit, we create a table with swings near by the play area, all made in wood (guatambu wood).
[via contemporist, dezeen]