A contemporary dining project inside the 19th-century Villa Osio complex, now Casa del Jazz.
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The existing building and its historical memory
The new Bo.Bo restaurant occupies part of the nineteenth-century Villa Osio complex. Commissioned by the banker Arturo Osio in the late 1930s and designed by architect Cesare Pascoletti, the estate comprises three buildings once used as residences. In 2004 the whole villa was transformed into what we know today as Casa del Jazz. Building B, which houses the restaurant, was the caretaker's house for the entire complex. Its Roman "domus" layout centred on a large courtyard around which the rooms of domestic life were arranged.
Visual continuity
The need to create a setting suited to contemporary dining led, as a first design move, to opening up new sightlines. The eye can now travel across the space, guided towards the elements that give the project its character.
The central atrium, the fulcrum of the whole composition, organises and distributes the dining rooms, draws light from above and passes it on to the secondary spaces. As well as being the perceptual centre of the project, it is also read as a place of meeting and exchange. Here sits one of the project's two souls: the oven and the pizza preparation counter, conceived as a generous space beneath a large skylight that generates unexpected plays of light.
The other soul, the cocktail bar, sits close to the entrance and the outdoor portico, a defining feature of the building. The two objects set within the space differ in geometry and finish. Flanking the large central space is a series of small rooms, each characterised by colourful furniture and murals that echo the dichotomy at the heart of the concept.
A dichotomy of materials
The colour scheme is built on a figure-and-ground relationship with the existing black resin floor. Pale walls act as a backdrop for luminous objects and let the large murals dominating the two dining rooms speak for themselves. The materials chosen for the finishes provide the breaks: a grey concrete-effect floor; the counter in the central space, with a dark base and a Carrara marble top; and the cocktail bar in oxidised copper-effect sheets with brass details.
Particular emphasis was placed on the choice of light fittings, where minimal pieces converse with contemporary design objects.
The artwork
The three murals by the artist Kick, born Giuseppe D'Emilio, are there to emphasise the architecture and engage with the diners. Their underlying theme is the duality between the bourgeois and bohemian spirit on which the concept rests. The images tell of the power of music to free the mind and carry it into an enchanted, metaphysical world that accompanies us from day into night.
The restaurant also features neon pieces designed by the artist, which lend the space a playful spirit inspired by the musical theme — the true connecting thread of the entire project.
