Maccaroni Club

The main green facade.

Project details

• Project Name: The Maccaroni Club
• Client: Morgan P.T.
• Project Type: Restaurant Bar
• Principal Designer: Giovanni D'Ambrosio
• Date of commencement of project: 2002
• Date of completion of project: 2002
• Location of site: Kuta, Bali, Indonesia
• Site Area: about 500 sq. m

The Maccaroni Club Restaurant - Longitudinal Section [opens in a pop-up window -- 69 KB image]

The interior green facade.

Words from the designer

"The meaning of the project is the expressive potential of nature, which enfolds people in the space through the plants and their vibrations. Nature is fascinating: there are trees with big arms and huge leaves, sun, high temperatures and monsoon rains. Everything comes up against nature."

The original Caruso Restaurant that was destroyed by a terrorist attack in 2002.

"The project, unfortunately, was made after the terrorist attack on Bali, on 12th October 2001. The Sari Club, Paddy's and the original Caruso Maccaroni Club, that we designed, were destroyed during the attack.
The first project introduced the idea of modernity in the local tradition in the district of Kuta, the new project of the Maccaroni Club has been realized, therefore, in a comfortable and not much aggressive space, a space which will give people the joie de vivre in a country full of sad memories."

The first floor and the metal pipes as lighting system.

"The new project preserves in part the original metal structure of the first project. The new structure is larger and has absorbed the garden of the first project. We wanted to offer the customer a space which is unusual for a restaurant, an inner space which is an outer one. The user experiences something of a tropical forest, what with the metallic tubes which reproduce the complexity of the messy stems of bamboo."

Interior View.

"The architecture of Bali is affected by atmospheric agents, especially in the countryside and in the villages. Lush bougainvilleas form huge walls (up to 200 square metres) between outside and inside, they air the inner space in order to avoid monsoon rains penetrating the room. The sun gets into the room and destroys the rectangular space through shadows, thrown by plants and metal stems which contain the lights. The green is not a decoration, but a part and a function of the project."

The bar desk.

The green wall on the back of the Club.

"The inside of this new structure creates the atmosphere typical of a bamboo forest with points of light. The place is always lit by two lights: one is pervasive, the other is punctiform. The two lights alternate through a slow-timer-dimmer and project the customer in two different atmospheres: the first is private and punctiform, the second is characterized by a pervasive light. This is like a breath."

Credits

• Text: Studio D'Ambrosio
• Photographs: Paulo Renftle, Cremona
• Compiled and Edited by Varun M. Ajani