Brutalist restaurant opens at The Cantabrian Maritime Museum

The Cantabrian Maritime Museum Restaurant

(Image credit: Courtesy of Zooco Estudio)

Brutalism buffs should make sure they visit The Cantabrian Maritime Museum for its recently revamped concrete-garnished Mediterranean restaurant overlooking Santander Bay. The design, led by Zooco, an award-winning Spanish architecture and design studio, aims to evoke the sensation of being aboard a ship, surrounded by nothing but water.

Discover seaside brutalism at The Cantabrian Maritime Museum

The Cantabrian Maritime Museum Restaurant view of Santander Bay

Originally envisioned by Spanish architects Vicente Roig Forner and Ángel Hernández Morales as part of a complex that accompanied the Oceanographic Center in the 1970s, the museum’s building underwent renovations in 2003. The west facade was extended, and a pyramidal aluminium structure was added to the terrace roof.

The Cantabrian Maritime Museum Restaurant interior during golden hour

The Cantabrian Maritime Museum Restaurant interior

Over two decades later, the structure has undergone another update, with the second floor transformed into a dramatic hospitality area that conjures a nautical atmosphere through oak wood and stainless steel fixtures – materials traditionally used in ship construction. Miguel Crespo Picot, Javier Guzmán Benito and Sixto Martín Martínez, founders of Zooco explain, ‘The furniture boasts subtle curves reminiscent of nautical aerodynamics, while the design of the lamps draws inspiration from ship masts and sails.’

Yet what truly sets the building apart is how the firm treated the original structure as a sculptural element, with the restaurant ‘becoming a vestige of the past’. The grey-toned concrete paraboloids of the original structure were left untouched, simply completed with four triangles of wooden slats, mirroring the construction of boat hulls. The resulting space, therefore, fosters both harmony and tension with the sea, sky, and mountains in the background.

At the same time, glass windows offer unobstructed views, concealed by low-slung fabric curtains, if desired. Just a few steps away, the generous terrace awaits, extending towards the water and providing green-accented outdoor seating, ideal for getting comfortable and losing track of time. The restaurant at The Cantabrian Maritime Museum is expected to open for the summer season.

The Cantabrian Maritime Museum Restaurant terrace with green seating

The restaurant at The Cantabrian Maritime Museum is located at Av. de Severiano Ballesteros, Santander, zooco.es

A version of this article appears in the June 2024 Travel Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.

Sofia de la Cruz is the Travel Editor at Wallpaper*. A self-declared flâneuse, she feels most inspired when taking the role of a cultural observer – chronicling the essence of cities and remote corners through their nuances, rituals, and people. Her work lives at the intersection of art, design, and culture, often shaped by conversations with the photographers who capture these worlds through their lens.