FOGO is the most recent restaurant of the renowned Portuguese chef Alexandre Silva and it can be found in AvenidasNovas, Lisbon. Here, everything is cooked on fire, doing justice to the place´s name – “Fogo” is the Portuguese word for “Fire”. From an architectural perspective, it was created an in-depth connection with the concept of the restaurant.
The biggest challenge was to refurbish an old two-floor store, to create an informal and cosy place to clients, lovers of more relaxing environments. The bar and the kitchen, open to the dining room, illustrate this more casual atmosphere.
At the basis of the project’s creativity stands the idea of the restaurant itself, cooking on fire and using national and organic products from small farmers. The building materials used are themselves portuguese, more traditional and handmade. Altogether, we submerge into contemporary with impressions from the past.
Everything was customized and thought to the last detail, from the lava tile from the Azores, the cement flattered flooring made on site, the "boxes" or "crates" designed in painted iron sheet to other metallic elements such as railings and long tufted bench seats. Once again, the mix between contemporary and traditional is made.
Suspended tufted benches in sheet metal and cladded with lava tiles from Azores which, not only conceal the entrance to the service doors and sanitary facilities, but also provide different visual senses given the way they have been placed there; some protruding and some re-entrant.This idea was also replicated at the opposite wall, in the metal boxes used for firewood and to support the dining room service. The proposition here was to maintain a uniform aesthetic, while keeping the restaurant pragmatic and functional.
Faithful to the concept, the light has been treated in a special way in white marble light boxes from Estremoz, at the bar area, and in light lines at the main room. The lighting was carefully designed and developed to simulate sparks, reinforcing the identity of the restaurant. The lighting stands out because of the dark grey colour of the restaurant, giving the idea that the kitchen’s fire goes all over the place. It is a clear message that we are at the restaurant FOGO, through a reinvented incursion to the kitchens from other generations.
At the centre of the dining room, two pillars, connected by a metal grid, form a homogeneous whole which, integrating wine and food refrigerators, represent a singular house product’s exhibition.
The pre-existing shop window was completely transformed, and the restaurant entrance is now made through a pivoting door, on the left side, and not by the centre as before, thus releasing space for the bar. This change not only highlights the façade, but also allows the creation of distinct moments of "full" and "empty", where the first one corresponds to the back of the bar and the second one to the entrance. The passer-by feels an aura of mystery as an invitation for coming in.
The destructive power of fire also symbolizes rebirth and the plants in the restaurant’s interior represent the timeless relationship between destruction and the rise of life.
In this project several perspectives were taken into consideration: fire and firewood as traditional elements of cooking, national and handmade building materials and all the atmosphere brought by these forces combined.
Material Used :
1. CIN - paints
2. PADIMAT - sanitary equipment & taps
3. FIMARBER - natural stone
4. TID/João Tiago Aguiar, arquitectos - lighting
5. EFAPEL - door comunication, switches and systems
6. FN HOTELARIA - professional kitchen supplier
7. CERAMISTA - Lava tiles fromtheAzores
8. FRANCOMETAL - Metal work
9. FRANCOMETAL - Window frames
10. SIKA - ResinFloor
11. CARPINTARIAS PLUMA MÁGICA - Carpentry
12. PEDRO OLIVEIRA LDA. - Air Conditioning
