DESIGN STORY / NARRATIVE

concrete presents restaurant 020, the place where Amsterdam city meets Curaçao beach. A historic manor house is transformed into a new restaurant and beach club. It’s the cool and casual little brother of 212 in Amsterdam and table65 sister in Singapore. Both siblings were crowned with a Michelin-star shortly after opening. The original ‘no table’ restaurant concept and interior design 212 opened its doors in Amsterdam in 2018. Restaurant 020 counts 40 seatings in the same setting. The iconic cutlery drawer, interactive table setting, similar furniture, the same Marrone kitchen, a familiar culinary experience and all the Amsterdam city knowledge cast in an island setting. For restaurant 020, concrete delivered the full design package: from concept to interior and furniture design, landscape design, venue’s name and graphic identity.

The manor itself was the inspiration for the interior design: the historic ‘noblesse’; a luxurious feel with an accessible touch; the beach. The olive green exterior and drive-away form a noble eye-catching entrance. While the entire interior opened up and the new open kitchen bridges throughout all spaces, the place casually ties together the in- and outdoor experience, resulting in a casual atmosphere. Guests who come for lunch can stick at the pool, pool guests come to have a drink and spontaneously hang around for an unplanned dinner. Keywords for the design are lightness, openness, spaces transitioning throughout the program. All seating is informal, and the setup showcases the program: from bar to dining, cocktail to lounging. By opening up the views through the building, redoing the interior finishes to a limited palette of colour and ingredients that frame the view and add to the glare of the blue sea and skies.

The central open kitchen bridges through all spaces, uniting the bar, restaurant and garden/pool area as the heart of the club. In the meantime, the drive-way, main building and garden form an intimate surrounding, all connected via the main entrance and rear porch. The drive-way is perfect for drop-offs and leaves plenty of space for pedestrians too, inviting guests to start their journey from the street to the villa along with the shade providing trees. A reflection pool and wide planters with trees over the terrace from all the way the entrance is separated by a granite walkway. Casual seating on the terrace allows for lounging while enjoying informal afternoon coffees or cuing for tables. A large handwritten sign above the main door welcomes guests with a personal touch.

WALKTHROUGH

When entering the drive-way, the noble olive green manor welcomes guests. The main building consists of three spaces from the same width, layered behind each other. Once entered, the walkway - outlined in the terrazzo floor - leads guests to the first space - the bar. The bar offers high seating with the perfect kitchen view through two existing wall openings. A teasing welcome for what has yet to come. The journey continues along the bar into the main restaurant space. On the right, the open kitchen with high seating forms the heart of the restaurant, opening up for interactions between guests and kitchen staff. On the left side, a more secluded area offers dining height tables to accommodate smaller groups in a more intimate setting. The kitchen is marked with an eye-catching neon-signage.

For the architecture, after removing a second, not original floor, the space doubled in height and now showcases the historic ceiling beams structure. Simultaneously, the tall ceiling, along with more space creates a fresher, open feel in the tropical environment. Suspended pendant lighting establishes the notion of a second ceiling element and structured the space into different sub-zones, such as the more secluded area for groups. The third restaurant area is the porch, which is opened to the rear garden but covered under a low roof. The kitchen continues into this space as an outdoor kitchen, again wrapped by the bar ending in high tables of six. All seating along the bar is arranged in such a way, providing ocean views for every guest.

After passing the restaurant, guests arrive in the garden where the actual beach club begins. The landscaping design is inspired by casual beach clubs typical for the Caribbean, with a more intimate, homey feel. The centred walkway continues in wood, guiding the guest to what is the heart of the club: the pool and belonging pool bar. The garden is partitioned into smaller areas: an open terrace for casual dining, couch seating under palm trees, a sandbox with hammocks and a bamboo field. All the spaces are kept small in size and furnished with residential furniture, creating a sensation of intimacy: more like a friends’ home than a large beach club. Each area caters to different needs and reacts to these in style, function and orientation.

Eventually, the walkway leads to the poolside bar and the pool. Next to the infinity pool, terraced stairs with deck chairs connect to the beach. The pool bar is located under a large modernist steel structure holding up a bamboo sunscreen. All seats around the bar are oriented in such a way, they all provide ocean views. The infinity pool stretches parallel to the shore and hidden behind the lower edge, an additional intimate sun deck with comfortable day beds can be found for sunset dining. Currently, the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, the garden and pool area are scheduled for opening in a few months.

SHOWSTOPPERS
- Reflection pool and drive-way in the front yard
- Open kitchen combining all three spaces into one restaurant
- Integrated cutlery drawers in bar and tabletops
- Pool bar with modernist steel structure and bamboo sunscreen

Material Used :
1. Floor - white terrazzo with sand tint, polished, stainless steel trims
2. Walls - artwork on white paint
3. Ceiling - floating bamboo lampions as counterpart to the existing wooden beam structure
4. Lighting - neon logo on stainless steel kitchen hood, bamboo pendants nama by ay illuminate, concrete shang pedants by bentu design

5. Furniture - custom countertops, tables and benches in natural oiled oak, bespoke cutlery drawers
6. Main Feature - open kitchen, all finishes stainless steel, main units by Marrone