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In The Region Of Alsace, Nara Converts A Carpentry Workshop Into A French Restaurant

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Simone Bossi
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Alsace is a historical region of France bordering Germany and Switzerland, and is known for its landscapes and natural wine producers—some of the best in Europe. Here, Strasbourg-based architecture firm Nara has refurbished a building from the 1850s, a former carpentry barn, into a pared-back restaurant serving local French cuisine.

With hard work and a clear creative vision, the interior has become a serene and welcoming place to be, with a masterful re-work with minimal intervention. “The main focus is to showcase the qualities of the existing building, a remarkable construction for its volume and materials,” explains the firm to IGNANT. The red-brick exterior facade was left intact, along with the wooden structural beams that line the inside of the restaurant’s roof. While inside, the visual aesthetic blends traditional and contemporary architecture together to create a charming and rustic experience.

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The open-plan kitchen is centered at the heart of the space, standing against an opaque mass that hides the bathrooms. These spaces stand in contrast to the rest of the structure, which follows a simple open-plan layout that includes the entrance, lounge, and dining area. “The use of stretched felt on the walls, up to two meters high, maintains a visual continuity of the carpeted floor, while ensuring high-performance thermal and acoustic insulation,” continue the architects. “The higher part of the walls and the underside of the ceiling are simply cleaned and left in their original state as a testimony of the authenticity of the place.”

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All images © Simone Bossi

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