Bermuda Post

Sunday, Mar 26, 2023

A Chef Builds a Family Home and Restaurant Under One Roof in Spain’s Basque Country

A Chef Builds a Family Home and Restaurant Under One Roof in Spain’s Basque Country

After an in-house meal, guests can stay the night at the renovated farmhouse, which is designed as an agritourism escape.

At Caserío Azkarraga, the tranquility of nature sets the tone. It’s quite a change for chef Fernando González, who, after living for several years between Ukraine, Denmark, and Asia, was running two restaurants in the center of Bilbao, Spain. Ready for a new chapter, he and his wife and business partner, Kateryna Overko, decided to decamp to the Basque countryside to raise their three children and open a new restaurant with a few rooms for guests.



The couple contacted Babel Studio and Bonadona Arquitectura, both based in Bilbao, to commission a complete reconstruction of a 19th-century farmhouse that was in ruins. "The project presented an opportunity to restore a typical landscape by removing all conflicting architectural features," says Michael Schmidt, director of Babel Studio.



The architects were able to recover the building’s three-foot-high stone walls, but the rest of the remaining wooden structure was too degraded and had to be removed. In its place they designed a new volume using pine from the trees on the plot. The wood was stained black and wrapped around the existing stone walls.



"The design presents itself as contemporary and minimalist, integrating itself into the context of the traditional farmhouses in its neighborhood," says Schmidt. "The black facade references, on one hand, the client’s time in Denmark and Japan, and on the other tends to blend with the nearby natural and built surroundings."



Inside, the family’s main living area-a double-height, open-plan space with sliding doors that open to the garden-shares the ground floor with the restaurant. Dividing it from the home’s private spaces is an in situ concrete wall at the center of the design. The family’s sleeping quarters are located in a volume that extends from one side of the building, which includes a smaller upper level that hosts four guest suites and a lounge area for the agritourism business.



"Simplicity in shape, materials, and color guided the design of the interior spaces," says Schmidt. The bucolic landscape "extends to the interior through the big scale openings," the architect adds, adding visual interest.


Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
Close
0:00
0:00
In a dramatic U-turn against His Government: Judicial Overhaul Legislation Must Be Halted, Says Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
Powell: Silicon Valley Bank was an 'outlier'
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
NYPD is setting up barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Trump arrest.
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman tours potential migrant housing in Rwanda as asylum deal remains mired in legal challenges
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
Jeremy Hunt insists his Budget will get young parents and over-50s back into work
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
Nashville police officer, and a female driver shooting one another
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
Mexican President Claims Mexico is Safer than the U.S.
A brief banking situation report
Lady bites police officer and gets instantly reaction
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
'No relation to the American SVB': India's SVC Bank acts to calm depositors amid brand name confusion.
Good news: The U.S. government is now guaranteeing all deposits, held by, Silicon Valley Bank, and the funds are available as of today
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
BBC Director General, Tim Davie, has apologized, but not resigned, yet, following the disruption of sports programmes over the weekend
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
Fitness scam
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
A primitive judge in Australia sparked outrage when he told a breastfeeding woman to leave his courtroom for being “a distraction"
Barcelona is feeling the heat as they face corruption charges over payments to former vice-president of Spain's referees' committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira
Senator Tom Cotton: If the Mexican Government Won’t Stop Cartels from Killing Americans, Then U.S. Government Should
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
Old clip of Bill Gates saying Ukraine is a big, fat, corrupt sinkhole is going viral
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
How do stolen goods end up on Amazon, eBay and Facebook Marketplace?
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Is Gold the Ultimate Safe Haven Asset in Times of Uncertainty?
Spain officials quit over trains that were too wide for tunnels...
Don Lemon, a CNN anchor, has provided a list of five areas that he believes the black community needs to address.
Hello. Here is our news digest from London.
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
Givenchy Store in New York Robbed of $50,000 in Merchandise
European MP Clare Daly condemns US attack on Nord Stream
Former U.S. President Carter will spend his remaining time at home and receive hospice care instead of medication
Tucker Carlson called Trump a 'demonic force'
US Joins 15 NATO Nations in Largest Space Data Collection Initiative in History
White House: No ETs over the United States
×