Havana-Cultura
CAFETERIAS DEL MALECON
Architectural Project
By Five Cuban Painters
Courtesy of
the H Magazine
Havana’s most beloved icon is set for a new look. Design group (e)spacios’ striking project for five exciting new structures to fill in some of the gaps along the familiar Malecón front is about to take shape.
The (e)spacios group, now composed of architect Vilma Bartolomé Arencibia and designers, Raidán Valdés Hung and Maikel Sánchez Cal, was set up in 1998. At first, all they had were pens, paper and home-made desks. Now, they operate from bright, well equipped offices in old Havana. The group’s ojective is to break down the boundaries between art, design and architecture. Traditionally, the role of architects and designers did not include fine artistry but (e)spacios’ successfully uses all three.
It was Vilma who first came up with the idea of the Malecón project, “I drove down the Malecón every day, and saw that every time a building was demolished, a makeshift cafeteria was put up in its place. I thought we could come up with a new aesthetics.” With the help of designer, Sulumi Sánchez Herrera, the group put together a project in time to present it at the Architecture biennale in May 2004. Vilma’s belief that the people of Havana were “keen for something new” was reconfirmed out when the drawings were displayed at the Hispano-American cultural centre. Hundreds of local people came, looked and approved of the plans.
(e)spacios took the basic concept for the Malecón project from a piece of the Art, by Los Carpinteros, called Ciudad transportable (portable city); the five proposed cafeterias, all made of canvas stretched over metal frameworks, were designed to be temporary, ephemeral.
In keeping with their objective to combine disciplines, (e)spacios took the work of five Cuban artists as the theme for their proposed cafeterias. Everything, from the space itself down to the furnishings and even the menu is based on the work of one artist. The one based on artist Roberto Fabelo’s image of a shell, for example, will specialize in seafood.
(e)spacios’ bold, imaginative project has won the approval of city historian, Eusebio Leal, and soon Havana’s cityscape will be enhanced by five new, soaring white landmarks along the length of the most famous landmark of all.
Malecón y Aguila. Artist: Roberto Fabelo
Fabelo’s vision of Cuban identity is reflected in this structure that combines the artist’s trademark image in the spiralling canvas shell with an allusion to one particular work of his depicting a bowl: Mar interior (sea interior) in the shape of the bar. A stone bench running the lengh of one side of the cafeteria is a reference to the fact that the Malecón is known as ‘Havana’s sofa’. Type of food: seafood.
Malecón y Lealtad. Artist: Ángel Ramírez
Ángel Ramírez is best known for his ‘medieval’ pieces including witty reinterpretations of Duccio and Cimabue. The theme here is medieval from a Cuban perspective. The cafeteria’s winged canvas arches are reminiscent of Gothic flying buttresses. The furnishings are monastic with heavy wooden refectory style tables and cunningly hinged chairs that turn from enclosed confessional for privacy to sociable bench. Type of food: traditional Cuban.
Malecón y Gervasio. Artist: Arturo Montoto
There is always a disconcerting element to Montoto’s paintings, often a piece of fruit placed randomly on an architectural detail. In this structure, the disconcerting elements are the quirky interior details in contrast to the very traditional classical domed and pillared structure. The chairs are slices of fruit or vegetables and odd panes of stained glass fruit can be found embedded into the walls and the tables themselves. Type of food: vegetarian.
Malecón y Belascoaín. Artista: Esterio Segura
Concept artist, Segura works on the theme of migration and journeys, an experience that has touched most Cuban lives. The space is evocative of a vast waiting room or airport lounge with TV screens displaying the menu like departures and arrivals. The furnishings refer to another, more domestic but very Cuban form of transport, the bicycle, and recycled bikes at that. Type of food: fast food.
Malecón y Campanario. Artist: Alfredo Sosabravo
Sosabravo’s bright colours and fantastic shapes are reflected here in the candy-like furniture. Tables and stools in primary colours provide the playful elements in what will be, appropriately, an ice-cream parlour. Like the other four, the main structure is of white canvas but this cafeteria is sited on two opposite street corners with a tunnel spanning the two. Type of food: ice-cream and pastries.
