journal
Photography: Anna Positano, Gaia Cambiaggi Studio Campo
16 / 11 / 2022
The architecture studio DEFERRARI+MODESTI, responsible for the design and interiors identity of the Brac bookshop in 2009 and its restructuring in 2016, has recently completed the expansion project necessary to accommodate the growing public and the rich calendar of events and presentations that the bookstore welcomes.
Brac opened in Florence, on Via dei Vagellai, in May 2009 - a place for meeting and exchanging ideas dedicated to the pleasure of art and gastronomy. Its two owners, Melisa and Sacha - she is a bibliophile with interests in art and contemporary art, and he is a chef specializing in vegetarian cuisine - launched the formula "bookshop with kitchen", which was immediately received with great enthusiasm in the city. Already in this first arrangement, the space in Brac was defined by an inventive intervention by the architects Javier Deferrari and Lavinia Modesti, who managed to create an articulated and diverse environment, albeit on a small scale.
Consequently, the bookshop's success led DEFERRARI+MODESTI to design its restyling in 2016, characterized by ingenious but elementary ideas capable of creating a welcoming and comfortable environment in a limited space.
A few years later, in 2021, the architects started a project to expand the bookstore, which arose from the need to expand the area for displaying and selling books, as well as the desire to define a fluid and versatile space where it is possible to welcome book presentations, readings, events and workshops.
This last intervention reused and renovated the premises adjacent to the existing bookshop, defined by large rooms with arches and vaulted ceilings and traditional Tuscan finishes such as brick vaults and terracotta floors. It is an interior space belonging to the historic fabric of Florence, organized into three large rooms. Each has different sizes, shapes and heights, which become references for the new furniture and scenography system. The design takes precise space constraints and transforms them into assets, working in specific configurations and using various devices and formats. The sequence of the three main rooms was thus reorganized and rethought as part of a large interior, punctuated by several rooms, each characterized by a specific atmosphere.
Each room is occupied by different furniture elements, custom-designed by the architects, with various finishes, volumes and geometries. The project explores the ability of furniture to act as a spatial device, a tool to guide the audience's actions and the rhythms of its activities. The intervention of the architects was based on the desire to recompose the interior space and then deploy it in different functions and relationships. Thus, the furniture performed various tasks: work surface, book display, seat, container, scenography, and filter.
Consequently, the bookshop's success led DEFERRARI+MODESTI to design its restyling in 2016, characterized by ingenious but elementary ideas capable of creating a welcoming and comfortable environment in a limited space.
A few years later, in 2021, the architects started a project to expand the bookstore, which arose from the need to expand the area for displaying and selling books, as well as the desire to define a fluid and versatile space where it is possible to welcome book presentations, readings, events and workshops.
This last intervention reused and renovated the premises adjacent to the existing bookshop, defined by large rooms with arches and vaulted ceilings and traditional Tuscan finishes such as brick vaults and terracotta floors. It is an interior space belonging to the historic fabric of Florence, organized into three large rooms. Each has different sizes, shapes and heights, which become references for the new furniture and scenography system. The design takes precise space constraints and transforms them into assets, working in specific configurations and using various devices and formats. The sequence of the three main rooms was thus reorganized and rethought as part of a large interior, punctuated by several rooms, each characterized by a specific atmosphere.
Each room is occupied by different furniture elements, custom-designed by the architects, with various finishes, volumes and geometries. The project explores the ability of furniture to act as a spatial device, a tool to guide the audience's actions and the rhythms of its activities. The intervention of the architects was based on the desire to recompose the interior space and then deploy it in different functions and relationships. Thus, the furniture performed various tasks: work surface, book display, seat, container, scenography, and filter.
For more informations visit DEFERRARI+MODESTI website.