besame mucho restaurant honors the acapulco chair in expo milan 2015

besame mucho restaurant honors the acapulco chair
all images © maria salvi

for the ‘bésame mucho’ restaurant, located on the last floor of the mexican pavilion in expo milan 2015, liquen agency developed a brand concept influenced by mexico in the 50’s, when acapulco was an international destination and the port became the main reference for fashion, design and glamour. following the concept, RCDESIGN took the acapulco chair as the main element for the design of the restaurant and transformed it into an installation of umbrellas that also work as lamps, creating a tribute to the anonymous mexican design icon.

the acapulco chairs lie suspended as lamps on each corridor of the restaurant

the restaurant area is divided into two equal mirrored sections where the tables are arranged. the division is created by a metal structure that lies in the middle, holding the poles that carry the umbrella lamp installation. this distribution allows eighty people to occupy the space at the same time.

the design elements of the restaurant are simple in order for the lamp installation to be the highlight

the lamp production was all handmade by artisans in the akele workshop, in mexico city. as for the metal and wooden products, all were completed in italy. the design of the restaurant pays a tribute to the acapulco chairs by placing them above the tables and reinterpreting their function by using them as lamps.

the windows of the restaurant expose the kitchen
the concept was to turn the iconic acapulco chair and turn it into a lamp

the metal structure acts not only as a divider, but as the support for the hanging lamp installation

the lamps have different sizes and are arranged in a random way

this top view diagram shows the different sizes and positions of the lamps

detail of the lamps

project info:

project name: bésame mucho

year: 2015

type: commercial / restaurant

area: 170 m2

location: mexican pavilion, expo milan 2015. milan, italy.

client: liquen (sandro landucci)

design: RCD (ricardo casas design) www.rcdesign.mx

design team: ricardo casas, isauro huizar, victor miranda, leonel torres, david vivanco, alma lopez, juan pablo zugasti

brand and graphic design: liquen

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: juliana neira | designboom