Strategically located in the vibrant Plaza de España in the city of Barcelona, Hotel Plaza has embarked on an exciting transformation of its ground floor. Its goal is to create a new Lobby Bar and Restaurant that becomes a gastronomic and cultural space open to the entire city.
Located at the foot of the majestic Montjuic mountain, the city’s largest urban park, EL EQUIPO CREATIVO’s design aims to integrate the natural beauty and Mediterranean charm of Montjuic. To achieve this, the existing height difference between the entrance and the back restaurant area is used to create stepped platforms with organic shapes. These platforms invite customers to explore them, evoking the feeling of ascending the mountain in front.
Bar. The platforms generate winding paths around the new circular Bar, which becomes a node of centripetal energy, almost like a new roundabout that interacts with the Plaza de España itself. Thanks to its prominent formal presence and its visible position from the entrance, the Bar becomes the focal point that invites visitors to enter. In material terms, this area seeks to recreate the atmosphere of a garden, with warm wooden ceilings that emulate treetops. A natural and neutral tone highlights the vibrant green of the ceramic bar.
Lobby. On the initial access level, but in a more discreet and peripheral way, is the hotel’s reception. This area has been designed with vibrant and artisanal ceramics, composed of three-dimensional pieces specially created for the project. The aim is to establish a dialogue with the bar counter and capture the freshness and greenery of Montjuic Park.
Restaurant. Venturing further into the project, we reach the upper level, where we are greeted by a spacious space bathed in intense natural light, thanks to its new translucent greenhouse-type covering. Under this intense Mediterranean light, we have created an authentic garden within the city. Large planters fill the space with greenery and freshness. Their organic shapes serve as benches, generating winding paths and even a small elevated stage.
In this way, we manage to create diverse areas and intimate corners to sit, each perfect for a specific occasion or moment of the day. This careful arrangement allows us to meet the functional requirements of the restaurant. “Simultáneo,” a spacious and versatile gastronomic and cultural space, where multiple activities can take place at any time of the day: from breakfasts to evening cocktails, from work meetings and family gatherings to conferences and concerts.
Architects: El Equipo Creativo
Lead Architects: Oliver Franz Schmidt, Natali Canas del Pozo, Lucas Echeveste Lacy
Design Team: Daniel Trujillo, Mónica Daza, Paco Vargas, Rafaela Aranzaens, Yesica Peña
Photographs: Adria Goula