Madrid-based architecture firm Zooco Estudio has created a unique ice cream experience with cozy, wood-themed interiors in Santander, Spain.  

The renowned Cantabrian ice cream company Regma, which was established in 1933, commissioned the studio to design their new retail shop on Santander's Calle Burgos. 

With a new visual identity, this project, named Regma Ice Cream Parlour, seeks to support the brand's continuing graphic and aesthetic evolution. 

The objective was to subtly and tangibly incorporate Regma's fundamental principles into the space's architectural language while avoiding overt or literal allusions.

"Regma is a familiar name to us, a longstanding reference in northern Spain. The brand emphasised their two key values: the natural quality of their ingredients and their distinctive, unpretentious use of colour," said the Zooco Estudio team.

"These attributes, combined with a geometric abstraction inspired by the world of ice cream, form the conceptual backbone of our design," the studio added.

The firm built the interior around a crucial geometric feature—the rotating square, or diamond shape—in order to realize this concept. This pattern is used uniformly throughout the façade, floors, and ceilings to provide a distinctive visual identity for the entire area.

Using noble, natural materials like travertine marble, oak wood, and clay-based paint, the material palette reinterprets the colors and textures of Regma's most iconic ice cream flavors. 

The design team maintained a direct link to traditional ice cream crafting by adding stainless steel, a crucial component in cold storage, to this triangle. 

As a result, the client is subliminally and abstractly transported into Regma's world. The firm created a sensory experience that upholds Regma's identity and continuous development by utilizing color, texture, and geometry that were influenced by the product and the brand's history.

Axonometric drawing

Floor plan

Zooco Estudio also exposed the Catalan vaults with original bricks in the renovation of this house in Madrid. Additionally, the studio created a restaurant under the vaults of paraboloid concrete membranes in Santander, Spain. 

Project facts

Project name: Regma Ice Cream Parlour

Architects: Zooco Estudio

Location: Santander, Spain

Completion year: 2024

Team: Miguel Crespo Picot, Javier Guzmán Benito, Sixto Martín Martínez – Zooco Estudio

Collaborators: Estefanía Sánchez

Construction: Grupo Nimbo

Lighting: Zooco Estudio

Furniture: Zooco Estudio

All images © David Zarzoso.

All drawings © Zooco Estudio.

> via Zooco Estudio

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