She is fascinated by the ephemeral. Attracted by all that is tangible. Seduced by challenges. Because designing, renovating and regenerating are her passions. Giving places a new lease of life, and then nourishing them with food that is matter, imagination and air.
From Exhibit to Cocktail Bars & Restaurant Design
«I don’t really like impersonal spaces. I love to shape comfort zones instead», Fulvia Parodi explains. Born in 1993, her roots are immersed in Bari, which balances between ancient walls, the seafront and focaccia with cherry tomatoes. She has a degree from IED – Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan, with a thesis on exhibit design. Next came a job in an art gallery, a stint at Giorgia Longoni’s architecture studio and even an interlude as a restaurateur, after breathing new life into the Bettolina di Gaggiano, a 17thcentury farmstead gone to ruin.
«An experience that moulded me completely. It was there that I truly grasped the critical aspects of a restaurant: from distances to flow management», Parodi continues. The designer is now at the helm of a project of her own, in collaboration with her colleague Luca Artieri: Effimero Studio. «We liked the concept of ephemerality as the essence of existence. I had picked it up in a passage by Gio Ponti about theatre». And in the meantime, together they re-imagined three ‘Milanese’ spots.
Maka Loft a Project by Fulvia Parodi
«Located, in Via Valtellina, Maka Loft was our carte blanche. An immense industrial space, made of iron and cement. An abandoned warehouse, in the former Farini railway yard. Here the mistake we had to avoid was giving the idea of an empty, army-like room in which to feel lonely. So we tried to redevelop, enliven and revitalise the place, starting from the central counter, monolithic and monumental, the fulcrum of the whole place. It’s the centrepiece of both the mixology and restaurant offerings. It’s a ‘circular’ counter, fully functional on all sides. And made entirely of steel: a material that reflects everything. A metal that is present without being excessively intrusive», she says.
Parodi is delighted to have revived a venue populated by a dreamlike forest of solemn columns. «To break up the imposing height and to soften the context, we placed a curtain right above the counter». A red, wavy iconeme that acts as a refrain, framing a setting punctuated by convivial wooden tables. It embodies an element of continuity with its Apulian sister establishment: Cala Maka di Torre Canne, plunged into the Brindisi coast. Where nature reigns supreme. Proud to gracefully invade even metropolitan space, thanks to a series of plants housed in large tubs dug into the concrete.
Gesto, Three Rooms in a Single Place
The story of Gesto, which in Porta Venezia expresses its strong link with art and music, is different. It is an existing brand but eager to renew its appearance and evolve. An improvement already reiterated in the slogan: Better then Before. «Here we needed to create a twist, extending a thread with the past and maintaining the feeling of the place: casual, easygoing and comfortable. But at the same time placing more emphasis on the culinary and experiential aspects», Fulvia points out.
She redesigned an already cosy and enveloping space, enhancing the architectural heritage of the arches, but also playing on eclecticism and the pleasure of moving from one room to another, from one setting to another, from one world to another, almost as if one were inside a Matryoshka doll. «At the entrance is the restaurant area; it’s clean and minimalist, with concrete walls warmed by soft lighting, dark brown upholstered seating, tables with wooden tops and a counter that serves as an extension of the kitchen.
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Photo by di Vittorio La Fata
