THE BISTRO OF FLOWERS

An ancient workshop in Bolzano gets a new lease of life by noa*, as it’s transformed into a welcoming bistro poised between historical heritage and contemporary finesse

Project: Bogen Bistro, Bolzano, Italy;

Interior Designer: noa* network of architecture, Italy

A trading hub for Italian and German speaking merchants since the 13th century, Bolzano's mercantile past echoes through the arcades of Via Portici, the city's main axis. The goods that would later reach the whole of Europe were stored in the warehouses here. Like Via Portici, the northern parallel street of Via Dr. Streiter has also preserved much of its original appearance; today, it still passes through three medieval stone arches. The street was mentioned for the first time in a document from 1498 and overlaps the old northern moat of the first town centre.

About halfway down the street is a house that is hard to miss-with only two storeys, it is one of the lowest in the neighbourhood. An external staircase with an open corridor and round-arched portals provide access to the east side of the building, breaking up the compact street front. This house has been the backdrop for noa*'s latest interior design project. “The house has a fascinating past that goes back centuries and overflows with life and variety," explains Stefan Rier, founder of noa* and lead architect of the project. “It has been in the hands of the Teutonic Order, a goldsmith named Hanns in the 15th century, the town secretary Ennthofer in the 16th century, and a long line of families thereafter. With our intervention, we wanted Bolzano's mercantile history to emerge clearly from these walls."