From fork to interior design: green as a cross-cutting concept

“The interior of Healthy reflects the owners’ philosophy and contains powerful references to nature, healthy living and sustainable thinking,” is how architect Stefano Cabrini from Bergamo-based practice Esprit Architettura begins his description of the project. But Healthy is more than just a restaurant, it is the manifestation of a concept proposed by the owners and developed in collaboration with the architects: a philosophy inspired by respect for nature in every detail. “The guiding principle behind the project was the owners’ desire to offer a valid alternative to Bergamo’s traditional restaurants with a menu that is as balanced and healthy as possible,” continued Cabrini. “The idea stems from the desire to bring together a community of people who appreciate food grown produced with passion and dedication by local farmers using age-old cultivation techniques and without the use of additives. The restaurant integrates perfectly into its surroundings and we made every effort to preserve the original structure of the building in order to minimise its environmental impact.”
The result is a location dominated by minimalist choices that at the same time makes a powerful statement: open kitchens to convey a sense of transparency; wood as a natural material; and porcelain tiles for surface coverings with a long lifetime – in itself a synonym of sustainability – produced using low-impact industrial processes. While the choice of materials, light and colours – particularly green – helped to achieve the primary goal of communicating a concept linked to nature, the design process also pursued other objectives. “The client had three equally important demands: to successfully combine aesthetics with functionality; to carefully control the costs of implementation; and last but not least to complete the project within a tight deadline,” explained Stefano Cabrini.
The choice of surface coverings fulfilled all three requirements, as the porcelain slabs from Casa dolce casa – Casamood’s Neutra series (Made in Florim) guarantee durability even in public spaces, while ensuring speed and simplicity of installation and contributing to an eco-friendly aesthetic. Their texture, defined by the architects as an ??emotional surface”, and their colour, with its strong green component, create a sense of uniformity and continuity of design. The architects were delighted with the finished results: “We worked with top brands for the finishes, the furniture and the lighting, and the results fully met our expectations.”