The refurbishment of Il Giardinetto restaurant, which won the FAD Interior Design Award in 1974, has been a great challenge. A delicate work to try and not mess up the magic place designed by Alfonso Milá and Federico Correa. It was deliberately a very closed and not very permeable place that over time has needed an update in the opposite direction. Renew or die. Most of the intervention has been on the ground floor, where, to achieve greater dynamism and a clear relationship between the exterior and the interior, the façade is opened, a new bar is added at street level and the materials of coating preserve the chromatic line of the old premises. In contrast to the widespread use of carpet, transparent glass, painted glass and mirror are used in the new intervention. Thus, thanks to the succession of these new materials along the continuous axis created by the entrance, the new sliding window and the linings of the double bars, the interior and exterior are continuously mixed by means of an attractive set of transparencies, glosses and reflections. At the same time as incorporating the outer bar and taking advantage of the entire thickness of the façade wall, it is arranged parallel to that of the interior, so that the waiters can serve the public from both sides of the premises from the same position. The closure of the new opening is solved with a sliding window that, once opened, is hidden behind the new painted glass interior cladding. In this position the hole is completely clean with all the window frames camouflaged. The double bar was also modified. Its presence was enhanced by increasing capacity and creating a more evocative image through the play of lighting with bottles and mirrors in the background.

The new shop–bookshop forms part of the first phase of the refurbishment works currently being carried out at MACBA, with the aim of achieving a stronger connection between the ground floor of the building and Plaça dels Àngels. To this end, a series of strategies have been implemented, including the enlargement of the main lobby in order to relocate the public information desk, the creation of a large opening to connect it directly with the atrium, and the conversion of the former hall into the shop–bookshop. The bookshop project is a design by our studio that respects the host building, designed by Richard Meier, while nonetheless asserting a distinct identity, an essential condition for any retail space. The intervention is structured around three main axes: an internal street–showcase, circular geometry, and the chromatic strategy of the street–showcase. The first design decision was to create an internal street running parallel to the façade, with a dual intention. On the one hand, it avoids multiple shop entrances that would be difficult to control from a security standpoint; on the other, it generates a continuous façade with its own character, without distorting the existing one. This new façade is composed of three elements: a plinth —formed by a perimeter shelving unit that creates a continuous semi-circular display window of more than 24 linear metres— a curved protective glass screen, and finally a distinctive light fitting produced by Santa & Cole, with a diameter of 14.65 linear metres and composed of 36 tulip-shaped diffusers. Concentric with this is another luminaire with a diameter of 8.45 linear metres and 24 tulip diffusers. Geometry The second key aspect is the adaptation to the circular geometry of the space. This consists of a large perimeter piece of furniture occupying exactly half a circumference, a series of radial furniture elements that generate three distinct areas, and a central counter from which all points of the shop can be supervised. Chromatic strategy One of the most significant features of the bookshop is its chromatic approach. From the outset, the use of colour was established as a design premise, both to stand out against the well-known colour employed by Meier—RAL 9003—and to signal that something was changing at MACBA. But which colour to use? Ultimately, inspired by a box of Pantone pencils, 41 different colours were applied, progressively combined through constant chromatic shifts: beginning with blues, moving through greens, yellows, oranges, reds and violets, and finally returning to blue, thus completing the chromatic circle.

Is it possible to create another Flash Flash restaurant fifty years later? Is it legitimate to clone one of the most emblematic projects by Federico Correa and Alfonso Milá from 1970? The Croma restaurant project is born out of deep respect and admiration for these two great architects who, together with Leopoldo Pomés, helped to transform architecture, interior design and, ultimately, the culture of the grey, post-war Barcelona. Flash Flash was, and still is, one of the most innovative restaurants, both in terms of interior design and gastronomy. Yes, it is possible to create a new restaurant that is different from Flash Flash yet preserves its essence. This was precisely the main premise when conceiving the new restaurant, Croma. Despite the use of the iconic Pop imagery —the photographer whose flash lights up the space— the result is not a copy, not a clone, but a completely new and distinct restaurant. Croma thus reinterprets the main features of the Correa–Milá project of the 1970s: spaces are organised into zones through islands of tables and terraces at different levels articulated by a continuous bench; ceiling heights are carefully controlled, kept low and at a human scale in order to create a welcoming, domestic atmosphere; the geometry is meticulous, yet allows for a versatile space; it creates an architectural space in which decoration becomes superfluous; the bar is neither a separating element nor an isolated one; and materials with glossy finishes are used throughout —glass, laminates, stainless steel, lacquered or varnished woods, all highly reflective. However, whereas Flash Flash was a radical statement in black and white, eliminating even the greyscale, at Croma it is precisely the range of greys that takes centre stage, together with the bold appearance of the yellow associated with Kodak photographic film packaging. As a tribute to the 1960s, the bathrooms feature a typical chromatic palette of the period: violet, green, orange, red and blue-grey. Undoubtedly, the most distinctive feature of the restaurant is the seven “magical” skylights that define its zoning. They arise from the need to lower the ceiling of the premises, which was originally too high for our restaurant. This may seem contradictory given the current demand for high ceilings in contemporary restaurants, but we believed this approach would enhance the sense of intimacy and create a more horizontally proportioned space. Only within these skylights is the full height of the premises exploited. The image of the female photographer, the iconic figure of Flash Flash, is reproduced on all the walls of Croma and appears projected kaleidoscopically within the skylights, thanks to multiple mirrors and her backlit image, generating a dreamlike and magical vision. The reflected light has the same colour as that produced by the “orange” gel filters traditionally used in photographic studios. The restaurant is divided into three areas: “the terrace”, the dining room and the bar. “The terrace”, a platform raised 45 cm above the dining room —a characteristic interior architectural device of the 1960s and 1970s— creates a sense of spaciousness in a venue of relatively modest dimensions. It could be said that the terrace is the place from which one sees and is seen. The bar is the element that articulates the entire space: a place of welcome, circulation and connection, as well as a support unit, pastry counter and bar in its own right. It is the point of connection between all areas. The different zones are defined by the characteristic continuous bench used in Flash Flash, but in this case with a nod to another iconic Correa–Milá restaurant project, the Reno restaurant, where the upholstery seams are vertical rather than horizontal. With the exception of the walls and flooring, all materials have a glossy finish: the walnut wood of the bar and auxiliary furniture; the stainless steel rings of the façade and skirting; the lacquered chairs; the laminated finishes of the tables and bathrooms; and even the new flashes of the photographer, made of polished stainless steel sheet, all generate an endless play of reflections and light. The space is lit by indirect light provided by the artificial-light flashes and skylights, and accented by a track of spotlights strategically positioned around the perimeter of the skylights, delivering direct light to each table. The combination of these three elements offers enormous lighting flexibility, from a fully daytime restaurant to a space that functions perfectly for ending the evening with a well-deserved cocktail. It is at this moment that the kaleidoscopic world takes centre stage —the most rebellious, nocturnal scene of Croma. The classic red “M68” luminaires by Miguel Milá, produced by Santa & Cole, positioned above the only fixed table in the restaurant and over the pastry counter, add warmth and a touch of colour, as do the black Headhat Bowl lamps, also by Santa & Cole, placed on the entrance furniture and used as supplementary lighting at the bar. All of them, naturally, in a glossy finish. One of the spaces designed with the greatest attention to detail is the bathroom. Once again, it becomes a game of constant reflections thanks to mirrors and glossy laminate finishes. The bathroom is conceived as a place of homage and memory: a tribute to the colours of the late 1960s. Violet laminate dominates the space, except in the cubicles, each of which is a different colour—green, orange, red and blue-grey. The luminaires recall the old photographic flash of the iconic photographer, the mythical opal glass ceiling light, but the true homage is encountered upon entering the bathroom, specifically in the lobby: the “Photographer’s Pavilion”, a kind of sanctuary where, for the first time, an original photograph of the Flash girl is revealed without her characteristic graphic treatment. Finally, the façade. It is composed of polished stainless steel rings, recalling the Flash Flash façade, and a frieze that acts as a large-scale advertisement facing Avinguda Diagonal. In it, our photographers capture the attention of passers-by by constantly taking photographs with the intermittent light of their flashes, focusing especially on the centre of the restaurant, precisely at the entrance, thereby giving full prominence to the visitor: the true subject of the photograph. This is a magical venue, a space that unfolds as the visitor interacts with it. A restaurant that never ceases to surprise, because wherever one looks, one always ends up discovering a new photographer who catches your eye, looks at you —and takes your picture.