LA BRÛLERIE - Finca Lérida

- Rstaurant remodeling proposal -

LOCATION Boquete, Chiriquí, Republic of Panama DESIGNAlegre Saporta COLLABORATORSAndrés Madrigal Valle García LópezMaría Antonella AmorusoAREA 146.24 m2YEAR2015
Finca Lérida - Country Hotel and Coffee Farm. Surrounded by nature and hundreds of hectares of coffee trees, the restaurant is located in a privileged center letting the owners to take a risks by betting on this project, proposing to raise the gastronomic quality of the area, especially for their clients, in order to offer them a unique and complete experience with the “Zero kilometer” concept.

8° 48' 47.17'' N 82° 28' 58.99'' W
The purpose of restoring and remodeling the existing restaurant building on the Lérida estate, is to turn it into a Kilometer Zero restaurant with the least possible impact, thus achieving a great project aimed at sustainability in all senses, in gastronomy, in design and in construction through bioclimatic planning. GASTRONOMY “ZERO KILOMETER” means the consumption of local ingredients with a philosophy of two main goal: to reduce the ecological footprint of transporting raw materials through thousands of kilometers, and to encourage local gastronomy, thus avoiding the extinction of certain plant species caused by the invasion of foreign products. This system is committed to adapting the kitchen to the nearby ingredients. In this way, it is intended to prevent globalization from eliminating the seasons of the year, even this manifesto helps to rescue the typical products of the region. Supporting the work of local producers and artisans. With this new opportunity, we demonstrate that Panama has first-class ingredients and together with Chef Andrés Madrigal, who is committed to this project by offering, working, investigation and defending the true typical flavors offered by the soil and traditions of Panamanian food, rescuing what has been lost focusing on our roots. Achieving these characteristics in “La Brûlerie” project, is easier than in any other area of ​​the country due to its location, lush vegetation, climate, fertile land and development that the project presents.
DESIGN PROCESS Initiated with the request the architectural intervention for the project by recycling the mindset, to avoid an impact on the construction, and to preserve the architectural language of the place, this was the client's main objective, to achieve a radical change with a small impact. As an initial stage of the project, a study of possibilities for intervention began to the option of maintaining the exterior structure and terrace, remodeling only its internal part in a discreet and modern way, and demolishing the existing kitchen to replace it for a new modern one. as a separate structure, united by the architectural language and the interior spaces, revealing clean and evident spaces that were not previously offered. The design of proposing the construction of a new kitchen allows many possibilities, but in this proposal, we managed to allow it to have a 360-degree view inside and outside the kitchen, offering an attraction to the culinary experience, revealing activities, preparations and assemblies of artistic dishes that can be achieved, being an opportunity offered by great first-world restaurants.