Gastón and María José Péndola Create an Inviting Home for an Argentine Pizza Restaurant

A house may not always be a home, but in the case of the La Bona Nit pizza restaurant, sometimes there can be “a house within the home.” Or at least that was idea behind the plan devised by architects Gastón and María José Péndola for 1,330 square feet of space within a food court in Córdoba, Argentina that itself is located within a former residence.

A clay oven, made in situ and located in a kitchen up front, is the heart of the project, with a cocktail bar in back. Graphic checkerboard flooring expands the space, illuminated by rows of softly-swinging pendants.

But the real star is the semi-enclosed patio, lined with discs of eucalyptus that resemble stacks of firewood and seating with inset logos that cast shadows in the sun. It’s all set beneath a structure, Péndola says, “that mimics a gabled roof, generating a memorable sensation upon entering” the room-within-a-room. Or house-within-a-home, as it may be. 

Read more: Studio Mabb Transforms Historic Italian Stable Into Beer and Pizza Tavern