Fucina Restaurant by ama - Andy Martin Architects

Photographer: Nick Rochowski

‘Organic produce, sustainably sourced and prepared honestly using Italian artisanal techniques’

Admist the typical London environment, Fucina is a haven for refuge from the buzz of the city. The aim was to invent a spacial experience that mirrored the brief architecturally. Using the space to produce a faithful portrait of the Italian taste, AMA resolved the design with a contemporary representation of elements that compose the rich Italian culture. The unique handmade ‘antico mattoni’ ceiling is formed and warped like an inverted vaulted brick ceiling, creating a visually dynamic atmosphere in this raw and inspiring restaurant.

The view of the street is obscured by a floor to ceiling steel framed screen with handmade coloured glass infill panels producing a ecclesiastical environment with its wax candle wall lights. The floors are hand laid marble chips set into a traditional ‘terrazzo cemento’ borders, reminiscent of Carlo Scarpa’s Olivetti building. Hand ‘decaped’ timber floors flow centrally throughout the restaurant. Along with brick, marble and timber, burnt steel is dominant and relates back to the name ‘Fucina’ meaning Forge. Traditionally, the forge in Italy not only related to what we know as a fire to heat metal, but also as the traditional kitchen fire for cooking.

This has strong connections with artesian process of making. The open fire pit kitchen in the lower ground floor looks through to the chef’s table, with its bubbling steel wall panels and rough brick flooring. The restaurant is made up of 110 dining covers seated on low backed bespoke banquettes and arm chairs on the ground floor, served by a solid carved marble finishing kitchen. The furniture takes inspiration from the tree - its branches, its roots. The large tables grow from the floor and the chairs are fabricated from refined and machined branches. These elements that we are in contact with, connect us back with the source, our beginning, to enjoy the perfect dining experience.

“The underlying theme is the use of prime raw materials, carefully selected in keeping with season and then skillfully turned into works of art in a way that only talented chefs are capable of”
Kurt Zdesar

ama - Andy Martin Architects

Photographer: Nick Rochowski