Masa

New York City­-based Studio Cadena has designed Masa, a new restaurant in a northern residential neighborhood of Bogotá, Colombia. The restaurant is built at residential scale, on the site of a former house that had gone through multiple residential and commercial iterations over the years. This is the second and largest space that Studio Cadena has designed for Masa, the first, also in Bogotá, is a smaller cafe that opened in 2014.

The 7,500­-square-­foot restaurant is organized as a grouping of distinct but interconnected volumes, each with a particular function. At one corner sits a cafe and bakery, which flows into central entrance area that is adjacent to a dining volume and separate retail space. An outdoor patio space provides garden seating and connects the public spaces to the kitchen in the rear. Elements such as a long concrete bar, cylindrical wood-­clad service station, and a multi-­tiered seating platform at the entrance serve to modulate the space.

Says Studio Cadena founder and principal Benjamin Cadena about his design, “The idea is that everything is connected, but the spaces remain fragmented for intimacy. In any space in the restaurant you might hear or smell things that give a sense of the adjacent spaces, but it isn’t completely open. The design defines distinct spatial volumes yet allows you to move through them with the freedom of an open plan.”

From the exterior, the triangular cutout windows and entry open the facade to the street, meeting the life of the sidewalk and revealing the life within the restaurant. The geometric windows, including a large circular window that looks into the garden from the kitchen, adds to the playful, graphic quality of the space’s indoor­-outdoor language. Says Cadena, “This project’s indoor-­outdoor continuity is intentional, but presents a challenge in Bogotá, where the weather is perennial spring or fall, and can be cold, chilly, or wet. In this case we wanted to be sure that you could always feel the presence of what’s being made here, and that the space remained open to itself and to the street, and was inviting to the city.”

A playfulness continues in the surfaces, fixtures and furniture, all designed by Studio Cadena. Distinct sculptural lighting designs serve to distinguish the different volumes – large paper globes light the corner café, while hand­-painted metal mesh hung from the ceiling catches the natural light in the middle volume. A unique floor made from large, hand-­cast terrazzo tiles embedded within traditional terrazzo covers the interior public spaces. The walls are made of textured, cast­-in­-place concrete.

These elements are born of an interest in updating techniques commonly used in Bogotá (such as terrazzo) as well as introducing new ones that are unique to the area ­ all part of aloose, cross­-referential design context, and a restaurant that requires minimal branding. “The strategy from a design standpoint was that the building does the work”, says Cadena.

Design Highlights
- 7,500­-square­-foot restaurant is organized as a grouping of distinct but interconnected volumes, each with a particular function
- Elements such as a long concrete bar, cylindrical wood-­clad service station, and a multitiered seating platform at the entrance serve to modulate the space
- Geometric windows, including a triangular cutout window on the exterior and large circular window that looks into the garden from the kitchen, adds to the playful, graphic quality of the space’s indoor-­outdoor language
- Surfaces, fixtures and furniture including a unique floor made from large, hand­-cast terrazzo tiles embedded within traditional terrazzo, all made of textured, cast-­in-­place concrete, as well as distinct sculptural lighting designs, all designed by Studio Cadena

Studio Cadena is an award-­winning design and architecture studio interested in engaging contemporary life, the city and its people – in designing new and captivating spaces, places and experiences for those who use them. The studio is young, yet combines substantial experience in the US and abroad, ranging from high­level strategic planning for cities, to cultural, commercial, residential and civic projects – museums, libraries, private homes, interiors, exhibitions and furniture. Founded by Benjamin Cadena and based in
Brooklyn and Bogotá, the studio was selected in 2016 by the American Institute of Architects for its biennial New Practices NY Award.

Architect Benjamin Cadena is originally from Bogotá, Colombia and holds a BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and Master of Architecture from the same institution. Before founding the studio, he worked at Rice+Lipka Architects, Stan Allen Architect, WORKac and Atelier Bow­Wow in New York and Tokyo. He teaches architecture design studios at Columbia Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation and has previously taught and been an invited critic at numerous institutions. He serves as
co­chair of the AIA New Practices Committee in New York, is a Fellow of the Urban Design Forum and the recipient of the 2016 AIA New York New Practices biennial award.

Masa is an artisanal bakery and all­day café located in Bogotá, Colombia. Founded in 2011 by New York transplants, sisters Silvana and Mariana Villegas, it has quickly become a darling in the city's food scene. Masa is known for its drive to be unique and the sisters' single­-minded pursuit to produce the best bread in Bogotá. Design plays an important role in their vision of how food should be served and enjoyed. They seek to create environments that embody their commitment to quality and provide a calm respite from the noisy city.

Studio Cadena

Collaborators:
Construction & Coordination: MRB S.A. y ODQ S.A.S.
Structural Engineer: Ingeniería y Proyectos de Infraestructura
Mechanical Engineer: ARQUITECTURA & BIOCLAMIATICA
Electrical Engineer: JGMC Ingeniería
Plumbing Engineer: BYC INGENIEROS HIDRAULICOS
Geotechnical Engineer: Alfonso Uribe S & Cia.
Lighting Consultant: ClaroOscuro Lighting Design
Acoustical Consultant: Ambientes Arquitecturales
AV Consultant: John Osorio
Millwork Fabrication: LETTO