Cobra
About
Cobra is a 112 m² (1,206 sq ft) bar under a railway viaduct at Paseo de la Infanta, Palermo, Buenos Aires. The project occupies one of the brick arches of the gastronomic walk and turns it into a covered passage between two outdoor terraces, with a counter built along each side.
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The arch has two open ends, one to the walk and one to the garden behind. Rather than close one of them and serve from the other, the project glazes both with folding carpentry that folds away entirely, and the interior becomes the shortest route between the two terraces. The counters are built along its sides, so drinks are served to a room that is being crossed rather than occupied. The bar is not a room you enter. It is a passage you cross.
Everything added is solid brick and iron recovered from demolition. The brick returns as the body of both counters and as the paving underfoot; the iron returns as a grid of shelving that climbs the full height of the back wall, backlit so the bottles read against the brick rather than on it. Counters are finished in Silestone, and furniture and cladding are cultivated timber.
Overhead, the vault is the underside of the viaduct itself, cleaned and lightly repaired and otherwise left as found. Trains pass above it. Light is warm and low, aimed at the shelving and the counters instead of at the room, so the brick carries it. At night the tables are taken out and the space works standing, continuous from the counters to the terraces and out to the pavement.
A brick stair drops to the existing basement, which holds the services and the toilets. Cobra was named 5 Star Winner for Best Leisure Interior Argentina at the International Property Awards, Central & South America, 2023–2024.
Cobra
Type: Bar
Location: Paseo de la Infanta, Palermo, Buenos Aires City, Argentina
Size: 112 m² / 1,206 SF
Scope: Interior Design
Interior Design: DOONT Studio
General Contractor: David Lema Da Pena
Photography: Alejandro Peral
International Property Awards — Central & South America — Best Leisure Interior Argentina — 2023-2024 — 5 Star Winner
