DiDeA Ai Giudici coffee shop and lounge bar, Palermo

“Ai Giudici” in central Palermo is a small coffee shop and lounge bar, measuring only 50 sq m, designed by architects Nicola Giuseppe Andò, Emanuela di Gaetano, Alfonso Riccio and Giuseppe De Lisi of studio DiDeA.
The architects responded to the need for a place that could serve two purposes (coffee shop by day and lounge bar at night) with a flexible, comfortable place in which day and night are differentiated using two perfect materials: wood for the daytime coffee shop and rust-coloured iron for the lounge bar at night.
Located at street level, “Ai Giudici” is built on a single level with a floating glass floor designed to protect the original floor, revealed by led lighting.
The entrance area, used as the coffee shop, is characterised by a handmade iron grid structure. The area used as the lounge-bar, in the centre of the space, is underlined by an iron volume treated with a rust colour positioned diagonally, wrapping around the floor, walls and ceiling and containing the bar.
The three-dimensional entrance area is the element that gives the place its character and maintains its visual continuity. The grid rises from the floor to the ceiling and contains a series of modules serving different functions: chairs/benches, bar counters, tables, containers, flowerpots and light fixtures.
These units are simple items of furniture which can easily be moved around inside the place, so that customers can set up the space in new ways; for instance, the seats can be simply turned to become either vertical stools or horizontal benches.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Design: Studio DiDea ( Nicola Giuseppe Andò, Emanuela di Gaetano, Alfonso Riccio, Giuseppe De Lisi)
Location: Palermo, Italy

Images courtesy of DiDeA © Studio DiDeA

www.architettididea.it

---

GALLERY