Forty-eight rocks were handpicked from a Chilean mine to form the centrepiece of Mareida, a London restaurant designed by Macarena Aguilar Izquierdo of Santiago-based studio DAW.
Mareida is the brainchild of owner Prenay Agarwal, who wanted to bring Chilean food, design and culture to London.
The rock library is one of several custom pieces inside the Fitzrovia restaurant, intended to connect the interior with the country’s diverse natural landscape.
Aguilar Izquierdo and Agarwal travelled to Combarbala, a mining town in northern Chile, to select stones of Combarbalita, a semiprecious volcanic rock unique to this region.
Each rock has its own shelf within a custom-built timber display case.
“An important part of Mareida’s concept relates to journeys from the Andes Mountains,” DAW founder Aguilar Izquierdo told Dezeen.
“Being able to present this in the restaurant space and make it tangible seemed very relevant to us.”
Agarwal was born in Mumbai and raised in Hong Kong, but fell in love with Chile through his husband. His vision was for a restaurant that draws from across the country’s mountain, rainforest and coastal regions.
This provided the starting point for Aguilar Izquierdo’s interior design, as well as for the menu developed by head chef Trinidad Vial Della Maggiora and guest chef Carolina Bazán.
Almost all the materials and details were sourced and built in Chile, then shipped to the UK in a container.
Another key element is the bar, which was designed in collaboration with London-based Chilean architect Mále Uribe.
Uribe specialises in working with mining waste from lithium extraction.
She developed a family of tiles, incorporating Combarbalite powder, quartz and copper tailings, which form a 3D geometric relief across the bar’s front.
“It consists of 16 geometric combinations in six colours, creating an Andean rhythm and texture,” said Aguilar Izquierdo.
“The material features Combaraba stone as its base, connecting the story with the natural stones found in the cabinet.”
Artworks on show include an illuminated piece by artist Javier Toro Blum, which hangs in the restaurant window, and a textile wall hanging by designer Josefina Concha, which takes cues from the textures of the Chilean landscape and sea.
Other fabric pieces were produced by textile atelier Sisa Studio, including linen and velvet curtains marked by shades of deep blue and soft grey.
“Each piece was hand-dyed to create layers of colour that speak of the relief and the sea, incorporating a blue that changes with the light inside the space,” said Aguilar Izquierdo.
Mareida’s logo is a triangle, referencing the country’s location within the Lithium Triangle, the geographic region that holds the majority of the earth’s salt supply.
Triangular motifs can be found throughout the restaurant, in copper details on the tables, on custom napkins and even in some of the dishes prepared by the chefs.
“The interior design seeks to create an honest atmosphere, using real materials in a contemporary space with substance,” added Aguilar Izquierdo.
“We wanted to offer a fresh perspective, with simple and elegant objects connected to nature.”
Other recent London restaurant openings include the neon-lit Bun House Disco in Shoreditch and Ara, which was made from responsibly sourced materials, including clay plaster.
The photography is courtesy of Mareida.
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