Distriandina by Studio Gil

Studio Gil Architects : Distriandina project

 

 

LOCATION: Elephant and Castle, London, United Kingdom

CLIENT: Distriandina LTD

TYPE: Restaurant/Retail

COMPLETION: 2012 (Phase One)

PROJECT TEAM: Pedro Gil, Claire Osborne,
Tom Bulmer, Hristina Kehayova,
Stephanie Poynts, Carmelo Abbate

 

 

– THE USE

Distriandina Bar and Restaurant is a Colombian owned and operated business in the Elephant and Castle area. Distriandina is one of the main social hubs for the Latin American community in London. Distriandina has been in their premises for nearly 10 years serving as a coffee shop, postal service, money transfer, gossip-station, legal advice and source of news, for the Latin American community.

 

 

-THE SITE

Situated within two existing railway arches along Elephant Road at the heart of the ongoing local regeneration, the project includes a restaurant, bar, and an ‘internal market’ for small Colombian-run businesses that provide the above mentioned services.

 

 

-THE PROJECT

Studio Gil worked with Distriandina from project inception to develop the brief, design, and construction in order to reconfigure and refurbish the railway arch spaces whilst maintaining the integrity of the business as a resource and destination for the Latin American community in London. “The design takes inspiration from colloquial Latin American pattern language. We used this project to affirm our approach that places high importance on the drawing as more than information for contractors or approvals, but rather a method to develop space, surface, texture, and to encourage a dialogue between ourselves and the outcome of the design.”

 

 

-PHOTOGRAPHY (Simon Kennedy)