Masquespacio presents its innovative conception in Valencia for Living Bakkali

Masquespacio is an award-winning creative consultancy created in 2010 by Ana Milena Hernández Palacios and Christophe Penasse. Combining the two forte disciplines of their founders - interior design and marketing - the Spanish design agency creates branding and interior projects through a unique approach that results in fresh and innovative concepts rewarded with a continued international recognition by media specialized in design, fashion and lifestyle trends. They have worked on projects globally in countries including Norway, Saudi Arabia, USA, France, Portugal, Germany, Colombia, Cambodia and Spain. They are also currently working in projects in Qatar, Italy and Austria and they have achieved numerous awards and accolades, among them the winner of Young Talent of The Year by Elle Deco International and the winner of Young Talent of The Year by Elle Decoration Spain in 2020 and the winner of Interior Designer of The Year by T Magazine Spain from The New York Times in 2019, among many others. 

Living Bakkali is another stunning story they tell with passion. Like how its name expresses, the restaurant is a place to live sensorial experiences, both for the palate as well as for the tact and the vision. Inspired by the Middle East, the design wishes to take you to the most profound part of the desert, connecting you with a marvellous environment, filled with the unknown and mystery. 

The project is initially presented through a layout of the different areas that recreate small corners, reminiscent to being in the rich Orient with its lounge seats that invite different diner groups to relax and connect with each other, all the while enjoying creative dishes from Living Bakkali. At the same time the diner will be curious to discover what the other corners of the space conceal, partially revealed through the different windows in the style of Arabic architecture. 

A central hall that connects the entrance with the kitchen guides one through the space, to discover each of the surroundings of the restaurant; from the more intimate two-person seating area and the benches for bigger groups, to a space that is situated on a higher level and gives one the opportunity to enjoy a wider panorama of the restaurant. While the first part of the hall makes one feel as if they were walking through a street of ancient houses, the second part takes you through a corridor between curtains that incorporate a private dining room and the bathrooms from the restaurant. 

A richly layered space has been created in detail with innovative forms and materials from Living Bakkali - at every turn, organic forms contrast with each other, while an adobe effect is created on walls, floors and ceilings, using one unique material for the entire design and executed completely by hand, like for the houses from the past that are aimed to be represented here. Above, a more neutral, but slightly contrasting colour palette that clearly reminds us of the desert has been applied. Last but not least, the created lighting effects aim to highlight the mysterious and beautiful Orient to be discovered. The design for Living Bakkali is a tribute to the unknown and marvellous world to be discovered in the East, while embodying special attention for its architecture from the past.