Architects: Park Associati - Filippo Pagliani, Michele Rossi with Alexia Caccavella, Alice Cuteri, Lorenzo Merloni Location: Brussels, Belgium Client: Electrolux Appliance Spa Project year: 2011 Photographs: Courtesy of Park Associati
THE CUBE – dining with a view – is a pavilion designed by Park Associati to house an itinerant restaurant commissioned by Electrolux. Designed to be placed in unexpected and dramatic European locations, it will be launched in Brussels on April 1st, 2011 where it will sit atop of the Parc du Cinquantenaire, close to the headquarters of the European Community.
The restaurant will be active simultaneously in twin structures; the two Electrolux Cube’s will travel across Europe offering a memorable dining experience for 18 guests per setting in magnificent locations. The transparent and semi-transparent structures will be seen atop of buildings, monuments and even on water in Belgium, Italy, Russia, Switzerland and Sweden but only for three months at each location.
The interior of the THE CUBE has been designed to suit different arrangements; the pavilion consists of a large open-planned space with a visible kitchen and a single large table that can be made to disappear by raising it up to the ceiling to form a lounge area for use after eating.
The total floor area of 140 sqm is divided between the open-planned space and a 50 sqm terrace.
In the kitchen, fitted with high-tech appliances in typical Electrolux style, top international chefs will take turns in offering guests a show-cooking service with specially created menus.
THE CUBE has been conceived as a module that can be put up and taken down relatively easily, one that suits all climatic conditions, even the most extreme, while always expressing the maximum in living comfort with its refined aesthetics and use of high-quality materials.
The construction has the lightness and versatility of an exhibition stand yet with the design complexity of a building. It uses materials that are highly innovative in terms of technology, eco-sustainability and energy saving as well as enabling constant re-use.
The pavilion’s lightness of form is emphasised on the exterior by its white colour and given a sense of movement through the use of an aluminium “skin” that has been laser-cut to create a texture with a geometric design that covers the whole of the outer surface. The base of the building, slightly raised with respect to the ground, accentuates the idea of lightness and the cleanness of form that characterises the entire structure. Inside, more highly advanced technological solutions can be found in the lighting, heating, sound system and of course, the kitchen equipment.
