Designer Michal Froněk: A restaurant needs a genius loci
Michal, what does a designer need to know before giving the nod to a commission?
Everything. Personally, I'm comfortable with fixed boundaries and barriers, be it spatial, financial or technical. It usually works out better than having 100% freedom and completing projects without feedback, or, heaven forbid, having to guide investors because they are unsure of their intentions. Our job is not to invent the pub.
With Ambiente, it's different. Tomáš Karpíšek always knows what he wants and comes to us with a clear vision. At the same time, he lets us turn and twist as we please. I admit that this cooperation goes beyond the normal - we have long built it on trust and respect and there is an incredible symbiosis between all of us, including Aleš Najbrt and other colleagues.
What was specific about the collaboration on Marie B?
I would say that this time it was special because of our knowledge of the Prague centre. Marie B is based in the house U Zeleného stromu, which I have known since my student days. It belongs to the Jewish community and is unique in that it hasn't been renovated yet - it's been waiting for forty years to be rebuilt under the direction of architect Michal Kohout. Thus, the authenticity of the house, which naturally fades with every reconstruction, no matter how successful, has not been lost. And it has preserved many historical elements that naturally attract designers.
Marie B boasts an authenticity that hasn't been covered by new surfaces as is common in contemporary Prague. Even if the conservationists resist it, we make it a polished tourist ghetto. It's rarely possible not to strip the original spaces and put a modern enterprise in them. Bokovka is a case in point, now followed by neighbouring Marie B. Indeed, the building bears the mark of age and light destruction that can still be put to good use. Even the curvy pavement evokes the atmosphere of yesteryear, not to mention the entrance to the restaurant, which houses some 220 different kinds of mailboxes.
Which other elements caught your eye?
For example, in the basement lies a multi-ton generator from the late 1950s and early 1960s - the house is said to have been home to the city's first ever computer. We also looked at the vault, which is statically flat, so flat that you can't believe the ceiling has lasted so long. We painted the vault and the walls to preserve their patina and added a clean trowelled floor. The space is dominated by the kitchen and bar, where the food will be prepared in front of the guests.
When we presented the design to Ambiente, Tomáš Karpíšek was in Paris and sent us photos of what the seating would look like. Our sketch was similar to his idea and, among other things, to the project we designed for the Taro restaurant. But if we repeated anything in Marie B, it was our classic mistake - we added extra work.
What exactly did you do to complicate things?
We create atypical interiors and put in challenging components. We've redesigned the chairs alone about five times. The thing is, the Marie B space is relatively small and low and doesn't offer that much seating, let alone the perfect backdrop for technology and a super-equipped pro kitchen. Most guests will therefore sit at the bar, which is flanked by a curved metal bar, and the Vin de Marie wine shop will serve as a more private part of the restaurant in the evening.
In addition, we had to design the furniture to respect the space and not touch the vault or the walls. We didn't want to drill into the ceiling, so we made a structure styled like a tree made of pipes and lights. Another condition was portability. Once the renovation was done, the interior should be easy to dismantle and relocate or put into storage.
Where did you go for inspiration?
In the case of Maria B, we were inspired primarily by the function that made its way into the visuals - specifically, the bar had to be assembled from corrugated segments. The next steps were determined by the space itself and its technical limits, to which everyone from the architects to the chefs responded. For example, we addressed ergonomics, but also acoustics. This motivated us to incorporate curtains into the interior. Functionality, in short, is god and in the end it is above all experiments.
But functionality does not exclude creativity.
It certainly doesn't. There's plenty of creativity on our team. A great constellation of professionals has formed around Marie B - I have been working with Honza Němeček for over thirty years, the main architect Honza Šrámek worked with us on La Degustation and our former student Jakub Pollág is helping with the realization with his company zeitgeist.limited. Jakub deals with limited objects and supplied all the furnishings, including the protein-themed chandeliers. His inspiration came from the macro-images of proteins, for which the Nobel Prize was awarded three years ago.
The restaurant's spray-painted door again claimed the garish green B sign and pointed us to the work of the Berlin artist Anselm Reyle. Choosing paintings for a restaurant can be tricky - it's not about decoration or showing off - but with Anselm we were sure from the start. His work is close to our hearts, it coincides with Ales Najbrt's view and illustrates the authentic character of the place. In Maria B, we end up installing paintings made from fabric remnants and neon, as well as potted changing curtains.
Anselm doesn't keep much say in his work, but I have visited him in the studio a few times and he has also been to Maria B. The collaboration developed into a friendship and it was obvious that he cared about our commission.
What matters to you as a designer?
I will repeat myself, but I wish that the Marie B restaurant had not lost its authenticity, which I think is and will be a trend in design and architecture. Part of this has been helped by the general decline in funding. We have to make do with limited capital without affecting the quality. Whereas in the past a pub used to be stripped to the bone after twenty years, today we are thrilled when we discover original elements in the interior and can uncover them.
I'm not saying that all pubs should be shabby, but life moves extremely fast. We are surrounded by instant things and experiences - that's why it's worth preserving the imprints of the past. I would hate to see the world filled with concrete villas, stainless steel kitchens, solid stone and all the things that the twenty-first century serves up.
I always think of Trattoria Moriggi in Milan, where I used to go for many years. It was bewitched, had one Turkish toilet for one hundred and fifty diners, old chairs and three dishes on the menu. I haven't gone there since the renovation. You go back to restaurants not only for the good food and staff, but also for the genius loci.
Note to self: The addition of artwork to the interior of Marie B was done in collaboration with DSC Gallery.
