Water, flour and ancient gestures make every morning a little brighter. Bakeries are more than a simple place, it’s where the whole memory of mankind is cherished, the source of social and spiritual life. This concept is where DFG ARCHITETTI team began when designing the renovation of a bakery in Ragusa, focusing on how to enhance the bread on display through lighting, colors and materials.
Composed of young architects Davide Scrofani, Ferdinando Mazza and Giuseppe Francone (who work between Rome and Ragusa), the team focuses on creativity with a strong respect towards the place (and the people) they intervene in, yet using unconventional design criteria. That’s what led them to designing a bakery that is not just a place where you buy bread but an actual quality space that expresses the soul and roots of the town. The shop is connected to the street through a wide window that creates a mutual continuum between inside and outside.

The captivating look of the store’s interior – as well as the green plant rack decorating the street - drags people’s attention. Inside, it feels like being in a painting, a white canvas where bread plays the oil part with its unique forms and hues. The hand-crafted counter, covered in white Okite, exhibits the food on squared igneous rock plates to emphasize its vivid hues. The whole setting looks like a bright limbo where bread’s golden shades spread. The key point of the space is the lab, specifically located where clients can see it so that they can witness the accurate energetic work of bakers, as well as a piece of mankind’s creativity and knowledge. Walls are enriched with a ceramic filigree upholster by Marazzi, recalling traditional local “cementine”, yet perfectly integrated in the contemporary interior design. Lighting is another interesting feature of the project, with big plasterboard squares at different heights, that embody both the production timeline and the historical value of bread (which is tied to people’s knowledge and civilization). Stretching onto the counter, the light also symbolizes the ever-going transmission of knowledge to new generations. A thin decoration made out of varnished birch staves, warmly welcomes clients at the entrance, stretching throughout the whole space just like a flying wheat field.

INFO: www.dfgarchitetti.it

PHOTO CREDITS: Marcello Bocchieri
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