Sandra Tarruella studio creates an unusual boutique butchers shop for Corella.

White tiles, a parquet floor, a workbench in full view, thick chunks of wood, hanging boxes, a bar where you can taste the goods... all these elements, or perhaps none of them concretely, suggest a butcher's shop that prepares its products using traditional methods. Sandra Tarruella Interior Design Studio has bestowed this space with a highly contemporary approach.

More projects by Sandra Tarruella in diarioDESIGN here.

The project was born with the intention of creating a warm environment that recalls artisan food preparation methods and high quality traditional butchers. Exposing food processes was a must.

The project is the second shop of the Corella family, and it is situated in the historic centre of Sant Cugat (Barcelona), where traditional structures of arches and beams, terracotta tiles and stone walls were common features on the premises. In order to tone these elements down and bring out the shop’s product (meat), all the pre-existing features were painted with an egg-shell effect. In this way, spacial elements became less obvious.

The biggest challenge of the Tarruella design studio, and in particular Ricard Trenchs and Elsa Noms who were in charge of the project, was to instill the space with transparency and visibility, the signature trademarks of Corella’s butchers shops. To do so, the preparation and sales areas are visually connected via a steel-framed, glass screen. This also connects to the exterior facade, so that the client can witness, from the street, the entire preparation process, something that has been lost over the years.

To further reinforce the ‘visibility’ concept, the woodwork has been painted a rust colour red. This tone is repeated in the establishment’s graphic identity and branding which has been designed by studio Fauna.

The entire interior is wholly welcoming, recalling old-fashioned markets but on a more domestic scale. The display counters have been placed in irregular formation along the locale’s perimeter. These are finished in different materials, such as traditional white tiles, leaving space in-between for clients to walk around. It recalls market stalls but with a recovered parquet from a 19th century Barcelonese apartment, the place turns more domestic and cozy. Pieces of recycled wood demark the junctions and serve as cutting boards for the meat products.

Facing the shop front, two tasting bars, made of a robust wood and dressed with stools made of different types of leather, encourage clients to taste products whilst waiting for their order. As a backdrop, metal boxes of varying dimensions have been hung on the original stone wall and are used as display elements.

The entire space is lit using singular spotlights that illuminate the different textures employed as much as the products themselves. Industrial-style fluorescent lamps have also been hung over the display cases, highlighting the products within and creating rhythm throughout the space. They are finished in the same rust red as found in the facade.

On the interior walls, old posters communicate the values of handmade, organically-prepared meat products. The toilets, with recycled wood floors and egg-shell walls, also adhere to the establishment’s ‘transparent’ values. A cement cattle trough has been repurposed to a washbasin for the clients, yet another playful reference to the project’s raison d’être.

Photographs: Meritxell Arjalaguer