Aqua is located in the most beautiful stretch of Italy, as Gabriele D'Annunzio called it, and has been conceived as a journey into the very essence of its surroundings: the Mediterranean. Overlooking Lungomare Falcomatà, Nick Maltese's restaurant recalls the setting of a ship resting at the bottom of the sea
Aqua, drink in restaurant: an interior design projecting us into a wreck at the bottom of the sea
Architect Nick Maltese leads the guests of Aqua, drink in restaurant beneath the surface of the waves, for an experience that fires up the five senses and makes us feel like we are in a wreck in the depths of the sea
"I've always been fascinated by the submarine atmosphere," says Nick Maltese, designer and founder of N+M. "In designing Aqua, I was looking for the feeling of being inside a wreck at the bottom of the sea. The challenge was to find the right colours and finishes in order to convey the particular luminescence of the seabed and the ever-changing light in the continuous movement of the water. I wanted to convey the sensation that you experience with every sense when you dive"
The choice of colours was one of the first approaches to the project. The interior palette consists of blue tones, from the colour of the sky to that of the Mediterranean sea, from aquamarine to turquoise and midnight blue. The refraction of light plays a decisive role in suggesting the underwater dimension, so all the glass has been worked with a special technique capable of creating an iridescent visual effect similar to that of water
The furnishings are all made and designed to enhance the specific features of the Aqua project, so that everything contributes to expressing the design idea of a unique space. These include the ceiling decorations: steel fish playing with the local name for blue fish, a treasure of the Mediterranean
To enter Aqua is to enter a suspended time that follows guests from dinner to lounge time, displaying all the nuances of the sea and stimulating all the senses. This almost metaphysical dimension is the result of a precise counterpoint that represents the common thread running through the entire design process, where the calm evanescence of the lighting suggestions is matched by the decisive materials of the details and decorations
Gallery
PEOPLE
