A floor and wainscoting of terracotta bricks for Doble Uve, an artisan bakery in Madrid
UBICCA studio covered the entire floor, wainscoting and counter of Doble Uve with terracotta bricks
In this exquisite bakery on Antonio Arias street in Madrid, the iconic studio UBICCA has clad the entire floor, counter, and wainscoting of terracotta bricks, using our Ladrillo Rústico 25×12 in the Albero shade. This all-encompassing choice gives an already unique space an intense and immersive personality, perfectly capturing the studio’s original vision. In their own words, this vision was to create an atmosphere that felt as warm and artisanal as possible.
The space has a very particular layout: the café is in one unit, and the bakery in another, and the two are connected only through small windows or openings. This makes functional sense for the use of the spaces, but the new design by UBICCA manages to “un-hide” the bakery’s work, bring visual cohesion to the entire business, and create a connection both inside and outside the two units. The unifying element is, indeed, our terracotta bricks.
Reasons to use terracotta brick wainscoting in a bakery: hues and imperfections
Inspired by the work of Doble Uve, the UBICCA studio (which also offers consultancy, architecture, and construction services, in addition to interior design, and was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit at Work in 2016), sought materials that align with the principles of a bakery: delicacy and artisanal care.
There are many similarities between the work done in a bakery and in a terracotta brick workshop. The production mechanics, when broken down, are quite similar. In both cases, natural raw materials are mixed into a mass or dough that is then baked. As a result, the final products share some subtle but fundamental traits: a range of tonal hues and small imperfections.
Although our bricks obviously fall within the same general color range, the terracotta firing process produces slight, natural variations in tone on the brick surfaces. This heterogeneity even evokes the color variations of freshly baked bread.
Covering the entire floor, the café counter, and the wainscoting in terracotta bricks unifies the aesthetic proposal without causing the visual fatigue often brought by overly uniform materials. It’s not the first time our pieces have been found near the ovens of a café or restaurant, but the project at Doble Uve has been one of the most comprehensive—and most successful—applications so far.
