Masquespacio's interior design of a burger joint nods to fast food chains of the 80s

Recently, Masquespacio, an award-winning, Spanish creative consultancy conceptualised the interior design of Bun Burger's newest outpost in the historic Brera neighbourhood of Milan. Bun Burgers is a gourmet burger fast food chain with multiple eateries in Italy. While this space retains the same brand identity as other locations, this restaurant design is envisioned to exhibit a more sophisticated look. With this new project at Via Dell’Orso 20, Milan, Masquespacio has now designed six eateries for Bun Burgers, including the recently opened restaurants at Via Calindri 2 and Via Spallanzani 16, both in Milan, as well as a new space at the shopping centre Lingotto in Turin, Italy.

Founded by Ana Milena Hernández Palacios and Christophe Penasse, Masquespacio is involved in branding and interior projects with a focus on unique and unconventional concepts. “It is important for us in every project to seek a personalised solution that fits with the brand and client we are working for. At the same time, we like to break away from the traditional and move away from conventional standards. The use of colour and material is definitely where you can most recognise our style in this space,” mentions Penasse, co-founder of Masquespacio.

Diverging from other Bun Burgers outlets, the new eatery showcases five distinct hues. However, this space’s colour palette is a bit less splashy to give it a more mature look and adapt it to the upscale district where it is located. “Bun Burgers is an ever evolving brand and this makes it a perfect match with our studio. They don’t want to stick to the standards, but are open to evolve for every space, understanding very well that every space needs a design language that represents the brand. In this case, as the space is surrounded by high level fashion brands, it needed a bit more sophistication for which we incorporated more mature colours, dry plants and a bit more of gold, to give it a luxury ambiance,” adds Penasse.

Bun Burgers' new outpost at Brera features a design that is a luxurious take on the aesthetic of fast food chains of the 80s. The main room with the ordering counters comprises a pink and green colour scheme. The eatery houses multiple seating areas including private booths within arched lavender spaces, and small tables for one and two people in its yellow and lavender hallway. The new restaurant also incorporates elements previously seen in other Bun Burgers outlets, such as the furniture and lighting design. In addition, the design firm added dry plants to the space to bring a touch of nature, which fits perfectly with the mature aspect that was important for this project.

Moreover, the highlight of this new restaurant is a small room that exhibits a one-of-a-kind swimming pool concept. “We loved developing the whole space, but the most challenging, without a doubt, was the corner where we created the swimming pool effect. It was a really small space and the client had a lot of doubts about it. As we needed to attract customers to that space, we needed to create a more outstanding space that would catch your attention,” remarks Penasse.

Through one of the lavender arches, guests enter a separate seating area with iridescent panels on the walls and ceiling, which provides a setting of being submerged in a swimming pool and being surrounded by water. “The designs for Bun Burgers are focused on an urban lifestyle concept. We usually incorporate one or different elements from this concept. In this case, we chose a swimming pool as it was already introduced in a previous Bun Burgers outpost in Turin. The concept in Turin was a big success and now we wanted to integrate it in the space in Brera, but in a less conventional way, recreating the wave of the water on the ceiling and walls. It feels like entering a space under water with your hamburger,” adds Penasse.

Most of the Bun Burgers outposts feature interiors with two or three hues. However, this eatery exhibits five different colours. Although all areas are connected, there are three distinctive spaces, one with purple and yellow hues, one with green and pink colours, and a last one in blue, with a swimming pool concept. The green colour is a standard in most Bun Burgers restaurants as a representation of their respect for nature (the brand is plastic free), and also because their menu includes offerings for both non-vegetarians and vegetarians. The other colours were chosen with tones that are more subtle to make the space have a chic look.

"All the Bun Burgers spaces start with the concept of playing with colour blocks to generate different spaces into the same open layout. This is at the same time applied to the different seating options, creating different seating experiences inside the same space, and thereby offering the customer a different dining experience every time. At the same time, as commented, the design is thought about as an urban lifestyle concept, for which we wanted to get away from the typical aesthetic used in hamburger chains,” adds Penasse.

Furthermore, Masquespacio is an advocate of environmental sustainability, which is reflected in the design of this space as well. “Environmental sustainability is something we are working on and evolving with. We like to work primarily with local artisans that hand-make most of the products using indigenous materials. Like in the case of Bun Burgers, we used products with high durability that were primarily produced onsite or in Europe, which makes it possible for them to stand the test of time. In this way, we are more respectful of the environment,” concludes Penasse.

Project Details

Name: Bun Burgers, Brera
Area: 100 m2
Architect: Masquespacio, Luca Gobbo
Construction: Augusto Contract
Furniture & Customised Lighting: Design Masquespacio
Production: Augusto Contract