Burr Studio designs Guest Lounge for ARCOmadrid 2024

Download images of the project here

Based on the theme proposed as a guide for ARCOmadrid 2024, The shore, the tide, the flow. An oceanic Caribbean, the winning project focuses on the first two concepts, the shore and the tide. A design that combines the philosophy and theme of the fair with the function of being a space for relaxation, meeting and gastronomy at ARCOmadrid. It also embodies the values of the Leading Brands of Spain Forum (FMRE) through its associated companies, which are examples of quality, innovation, sustainability and contemporaneity, and which will provide products for the adaptation of this space.

ARCOmadrid 2024 Guest Lounge Project, by Burr

The shore defines the boundary between land and water, a changing, undefined space and perhaps one of the most representative spaces of the changes we are experiencing and those yet to come. Rising sea levels and diminishing water reserves are two of the most serious effects of the current climate crisis.

What we commonly think of as a shore is a natural run-off system that is part of the water cycle, guiding surface water into lakes, seas and oceans. It is a large sloping plane that, to some extent, contains these bodies of water.

The condition that makes this area such a special environment is the tide. Changes in sea level make this area a transition zone between a solid and a liquid environment. The shore at low tide is an inherently ephemeral space, one which is exposed for a specified period of time during which we can explore it. A changing and unstable space that forces the bodies that pass through it to adapt, to discover their consistency, to recalibrate their centre of gravity.

We propose to recreate this situation by means of an unstable space that provokes this need to experiment, to play, but also to reflect on our relationship with our surroundings.

Our proposal is to rotate the floor plan of the Guest Lounge by 2 degrees, corresponding to a slope of no more than 4%, which is the limit set by the technical building code for defining a ramp.

We are not trying to create a ramp, but to create a space of vagueness, where it is not clear what exactly is happening. We do not seek to generate effort, we want to force a state of reflection and questioning of the environment. A large non-horizontal plane.

This slight distortion of the horizontality ultimately seeks to reflect on our fragility as a species and the inevitable changes in our environment, but it also seeks to encourage a space of discovery, of play, in which there is always a certain sense of unreality.

The proposal is divided into 3 main areas: the main room, the restaurant and the sponsors’ areas. In the room, as on a shore at low tide, a series of abstract objects appear, remnants of another time, which act as support pieces: tables, bars, seats, etc. It is proposed to work in collaboration with different suppliers to develop these pieces from recovered remains and scraps.

The restaurant will be treated differently from the rest of the space. It is based on the construction technique of a ship, with perimeter ribs that form a volume similar to that of a ship’s hull.

Both the furniture and the lighting have been selected from the catalogues of companies in the sector that are part of the Leading Brands of Spain Forum.

Burr is an architectural studio founded by Elena Fuertes, Ramón Martínez, Álvaro Molins and Jorge Sobejano. Amanda Bouzada and Jesús Meseguer are currently part of the team. 

*Jury: Ricardo Fernández architect Estudio DIIR -winning project Guest Lounge ARCOmadrid 2023; Alejandra Gandía-Blasco Lloret, Deputy Creative and Communication Director of the Gandia Blasco Group; Silvia Ortiz, Travesía Cuatro gallery and member of the ARCOmadrid Organising Committee; Maite Sebastiá, Director of AD magazine; Pedro Vargas, Director of International Projects of the Leading Brands of Spain Forum, and Maribel López, Director of ARCOmadrid.