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.
