Oval Barcelona by Flexoarquitectura

You see, as much as I love a project with a big fat budget to work on or to share with you, I am also quite partial towards projects that were time and budget challenged, but have managed to rise to the occasion. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again a thousand times if I have to – good design and good taste (especially) have nothing to do with good budgets, although the budget certainly make things a lot easier.

On that note, let’s take a little look at a burger restaurant Oval, situated in a 19th century building in Barcelona’s Eixample. Super cute or what? Precisely. This interior was refurbished by Flexoarquitectura, who were commissioned to salvage and restore the venue’s original character which was covered up by a series of poor interventions over the years. “We understand the project as an opportunity to recover what we consider essential: the spaciousness and the industrial character of the space by the reinforcement of its materiality,” said the architects.

So why is this space good? Well, for starters, there’s an intelligent conversation going on between the old, the new, the high(ish) and the low. Instead of going back to stripping the entire building, the architects chose to expose all the layers of the previous incarnations. By doing this they’ve created an interesting collage of styles and eras, and a completely unique sense of aesthetic (not to mention saved a whole heap of time and money they didn’t have). The palette is considered, although it doesn’t feel too safe or predictable – the choice of red accent on the shopfront is a brave and clever choice which provides just enough flirtation for the eye. Clever work.