What interests me in certain contemporary projects is when design succeeds in making the encounter between different cultures feel natural. In this case, architecture, gastronomy, and urban everyday life come together to create an experience that feels understated yet highly recognizable, conceived for a city that is searching for new rituals of interaction.
Inside the courtyard of Pirelli35, a building designed by Snøhetta and Park Associati, PAN deli develops a new evolution of the format created by Yoji Tokuyoshi and Alice Yamada together with Studio Wok. The project was conceived as a neighborhood deli dedicated to a fast yet curated everyday experience, capable of bringing Japanese culture, food, and urban lifestyle closer together without turning them into something exclusive or performative. Its position within the complex contributes to defining the character of the venue: a quiet pause within the city center, where the relationship between contemporary architecture and convivial dimension becomes part of the experience itself. The environment retains the visual lightness and suspended atmosphere already present in the first PAN, while introducing a more dynamic and immediate interpretation suited to metropolitan rhythms. Large glazed surfaces, essential materials, and natural light create an open and permeable setting designed to accompany different moments of the day. Rather than relying on decoration, the project works through perception: conveying calmness, simplicity, and continuity between interior and exterior. The result is a format that interprets the contemporary deli as a cultural place as much as a gastronomic one, where visual identity, urban habits, and design sensibility coexist in balance.
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