Wood Court Restaurant

Wood Court Restaurant
© atelier XYZ

Wood Court Restaurant

INS Ilaria Nava Studio

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Ilaria Nava

MANUFACTURERS
Graphisoft, Simes, Ceramiche Caesar, Flos, Mapei, Platek, Adobe Systems Incorporated, Elle Esse, Elysium, Newtek, Nulli, Paver, Ravaioli Legnami, Robert Mcneel & Associates, Rockwool Italia, Schüco International Italia, Self Style, Venest

LANDSCAPE
INS Ilaria Nava Studio

CONSULTANTS
AP Design

DESIGN TEAM
Ilaria Nava, Alessandra Rosara, Guido Genovesi, Ins Ilaria Nava Studio

CONTRACTOR
Bruedil S.R.L.

ENGINEERING
Milan Ingegneria Srl, NT Engineering S.r.l, TLC S.r.l

CLIENTS
SPA Groane S.r.l.

PHOTOGRAPHS
Atelier XYZ

AREA
1580 m²

YEAR
2018

LOCATION
Cesate, Italy

CATEGORY
Restaurant

Text description provided by architect.

The architectural space of the restaurant is made up of unexpected diagonals that forcefully split the shell, opening its most intimate part – a central concave space exposed to the south – to nature, with the wood insinuating itself into the building.

Wood Court Restaurant
© atelier XYZ
Wood Court Restaurant
© atelier XYZ

And the building, symbiotically, becomes an enveloping form that protects nature and draws the visitor’s eye to connect with it, where the wooden deck becomes the stage for oaks and birch trees.

These external spaces enhance the relationship between man and the power of nature thanks to the design of the specially devised wooden overhangs, a roofing system organised in intersecting planes, which is also a characteristic element of the restaurant interior, like planes that organically glide out towards the heathland.

Wood Court Restaurant
© atelier XYZ
Wood Court Restaurant
© atelier XYZ

The generous use of wood in the courtyard, with the red cedar covering and the Ipè wood decking, creates a visual, spacial and material connection with the woodland.

The principal facade, with a western exposure/orientation and parallel to the road, is characterised by a set of larch vertical panels that at night generate a seductive pattern of light and shade.

Wood Court Restaurant
© atelier XYZ
Wood Court Restaurant
© atelier XYZ

These panels, in addition to protecting the internal space from glare, at dusk, provide an acoustic and visual barrier in relation to the road.

The challenging structural project is one of the valuable elements of the building: the pitched roof is devised as a combination of intersecting planes with 20 metre spans.

Wood Court Restaurant
© atelier XYZ
Wood Court Restaurant
© atelier XYZ

This solution exploits the internal spaces to realise a single open space and to create long glass facades beneath the extensive overhang of the courtyard.

The glazing in the external courtyard is made up of large fixed and sliding doors that open to create 9 metres of uninterrupted light bringing together the inside and the outside in a unique extraordinary sensory space.

Wood Court Restaurant
© atelier XYZ
Wood Court Restaurant
© atelier XYZ

The design vision thus finds synthesis in the external courtyard, that welcomes visitors between wooden surfaces, inclined spaces, the rustle of leaves and evening dew:

it is here where the complete symbiosis between architecture, man and nature is realised.

Wood Court Restaurant
© atelier XYZ


Wood Court Restaurant
Ground floor plan
Wood Court Restaurant
Roof plan


Wood Court Restaurant
South west elevation
Wood Court Restaurant
North west elevation


Wood Court Restaurant
Transversal section
Wood Court Restaurant
Diagram


Wood Court Restaurant
Section detail
Wood Court Restaurant
Model