Miguel Crespo: Transforming Restaurant Interiors with Zooco

Miguel Crespo, a co-founder of Zooco, has been crucial in transforming architectural spaces with innovative designs. Zooco, an architectural studio established in 2009 by Miguel Crespo Picot, Javier Guzmán Benito, and Sixto Martín Martínez, has gearned recognition for its wide-ranging design projects. Their award-winning project, “La Maruca de López de Hoyos,” located in Madrid, Spain, and commissioned by Grupo Cañadio, highlights their exceptional talent and dedication. Through a process of abstraction, the project plays with the exterior-interior dualism, generating exterior-like environments within the interior spaces. We had the pleasure of speaking with Miguel to learn more about their approach and the inspirations behind their remarkable work.

Could you give us a little background on yourself or your company?

Miguel Crespo: Zooco is an architectural studio founded in 2009 by myself, Javier Guzmán Benito, and Sixto Martín Martínez, all graduates of the School of Architecture of Madrid. Our studio covers a wide spectrum from large-scale building projects to furniture design. We focus on adapting solutions to the client’s needs, using a timeless language, and we are always in search of new challenges.

What was the brief for the award-winning project?

Miguel Crespo: This is the third restaurant called “La Maruca” that the Cañadio group commissioned us. They always emphasize that they want the space to represent happiness. They want people to be seen happy in the restaurant and to create various environments where everyone feels comfortable.

Please describe the design process for La Maruca de López de Hoyos. How was it resolved?

Miguel Crespo: The design process began by matching the public and private spaces and determining the number of diners that can fit in the restaurant. We then looked for a concept to express according to the client’s briefing. In this case, it was a nautical environment materialized by a “building” that you walk through and see its interior. Aesthetically, we based it on the rationalist nautical architecture of Santander, the city of origin of the restaurant.

What challenges were faced throughout the interior design process?

Miguel Crespo: The biggest challenge was to materialize this building indoors since it even had its own structure, roof, and facades. Making all this make sense and work like a restaurant was quite challenging.

What is most outstanding or innovative about the project?

Miguel Crespo: The way you walk through the restaurant and see the interior of the volume, and how you can even enter it in the bathroom area or outside in the area we call the pier, is quite innovative.

What outcomes of the project are you most proud of?

Miguel Crespo: We are most proud of being able to design everything, from the benches to the furniture, down to the smallest detail.

What led you to become an architect specializing in interior design?

Miguel Crespo: The three of us became architects because of our passion for creating new spaces that respond to and make people’s daily lives easier.

Who are your biggest influences or who do you most admire in architecture and interior design?

Miguel Crespo: We feel represented by Nordic and Japanese architecture, which in many aspects, touch each other.

If you could own any building or design object in the world, what would you choose and why?

Miguel Crespo: The Guggenheim in New York seems to us to have a mental clarity for the time that is difficult to believe.

How can architecture and interior design make a real difference to society and the world?

Miguel Crespo: Our profession as architects is indispensable for life and society. Everything around us is architecture, and someone has to develop and evolve it for life to be possible.

How do you feel about receiving an Architecture MasterPrize? What difference do you feel it will make to your future or the future of your company?

Miguel Crespo: Receiving an Architecture MasterPrize is always an honor, and we notice that clients value it and it makes them more interested in our projects.

We sincerely thank Miguel Crespo for sharing his insights and showcasing his exceptional work on “La Maruca de López de Hoyos.” His commitment to creating meaningful and innovative interior spaces is incredibly inspiring, highlighting the significant influence that thoughtfully designed environments can have on our lives and communities.