Close

The Cantabrian Maritime Museum restaurant was designed by Zooco as a brutalist design overlooking the sea

The project provides the museum with a new space on the second floor to house its restaurant and terrace in

Multidisciplinary interior design firm Zooco recently completed its latest project – the Cantabrian Maritime Museum restaurant in Spain. Located on Severiano Ballesteros Street in Santander, Spain, the restaurant was conceived as part of an architectural complex that also includes the Oceanographic Centre designed by Vicente Roig Forner and Ángel Hernández Morales, built between 1975 and 1978.

Part of the pyramidal aluminum structure

Part of the pyramidal aluminum structure

The original building consists of two square bodies connected by a canopy, with a concrete structure. The interior is distributed over three floors, around a central courtyard covered by a vault of paraboloid membranes. In 2003, a renovation and an extension were carried out which included the extension of the west façade and the roof of the terrace with a pyramidal aluminium structure, thus altering the initial conception of the building.

The project provides the museum with a new space on the second floor to house its restaurant and terrace in. To accomplish this, the project involved the creation of a new volume that provides a solution to the pathologies present in the roof and façade of the building.

View of the landscape of the Bay of Santander

View of the landscape of the Bay of Santander

The square morphology of this volume is the result of the addition of four triangles that regularise and complete the paraboloids of the original building, thus directing the visitor towards the interior, to the rawness of the concrete paraboloids. In a sense, the geometry becomes a recovered element, a vestige of the past and the protagonist of the interior of the restaurant. Treated as an artistic element, the triangular wooden false ceilings frame it.

The exterior features a glass box that provides maximum transparency (nuanced by textiles in the form of curtains, depending on orientation) and allows expansive views of the extraordinary landscape of the Bay of Santander, lending to the feeling of being at sea.

Triangular wooden false ceilings

Triangular wooden false ceilings

Photography by David Zarzoso

The Latest

Elevate Your Reading Space

Assouline’s new objects and home fragrances collection are an ideal complement to your reading rituals

All Aboard

What it will be like aboard the world’s largest residential yacht, the ULYSSIA?

Inside The Charleston

A tribute to Galle Fort’s complex heritage, The Charleston blends Art Deco elegance with Sri Lankan artistry and Bawa-infused modernism

buddha bar dubai marina

Design Take: Buddha Bar

We unveil the story behind the iconic design of the much-loved Buddha Bar in Grosvenor House.

A Layered Narrative

An Edwardian home in London becomes a serene gallery of culture, craft and contemporary design

A Brand Symphony

Kader Mithani, CEO of Casamia, and Gian Luca Gessi, CEO of Gessi, reflect on the partnership between the two brands

The Art of Wellness

Kintsugi in Abu Dhabi, situated in a seven-storey villa, offers the ultimate zen retreat

Design Take: Inside the Royal Suite at Jumeirah Al Naseem

With sweeping views of the ocean and Burj Al Arab, this two bedroom royal suite offers a lush stay.

Elevated Living

Designed by La Bottega Interiors, this penthouse at the Delano Dubai echoes soft minimalism

Quiet Luxury

Studio SuCo transforms a villa in Dubailand into a refined home

Contrasting Textures

Located in Al Barari and designed by BONE Studio, this home provides both openness and intimacy through the unique use of materials

Stillness, Form and Function

Yasmin Farahmandy of Y Design Interior has designed a home for a creative from the film industry