Design Architect:

Mandi Rafaty

Associate Architect or Firm:

Landscape Architect:

Owner / Developer:

Gaucho Grill, gauchogrill.com

Project Data:

Completion Date:     12/31/2020

Square Footage:      10600

Building Use:           Restaurant

Project Description:

Gaucho grill specializes in Argentine Parrilla cuisine. The design problem was to reimagine an old, decrepit looking 10,600 stucco box that was a former chain restaurant, along a busy main artery in Buena Park, CA. The design concept was to make reference to the Argentine Pampas Estancia, the cowboys who raise the cattle, Argentine Parrillas, and the culture of cattle raising. The enjoyment of the bounty of good meats and sausages grilled over wood, that is a tradition that came out of the Pampas region. The design team researched the use of materials, the look and feel of Parrilla and Estancia architecture, the lifestyle of the cowboys who raise the cattle, the fabrics, leather and colors of their clothing, bedrolls, horse blankets and furnishings.

From the research came a design that takes the rustic stone, wood, ceramics, brick, colorful typical fabric, well worked and formed rustic oxidized steel, to create a modern interpretation of the traditional Argentine pampas and parrilla spaces. With the intent to transport the customers imagination away from a busy street in Buena Park.

The program consisted of a large kitchen and display kitchen, A meat market area with seating for takeout food, full bar with indoor and outdoor seating, a main dining room with spacious outdoor seating area and a private dining area. The display Kitchen is designed to give the experience of a traditional Argentine wood fired parrilla or barbecue grill, as one would find in a typical Parrilla in many Pampas towns.

Rustic materials such as rough field stone, heavy hewn wood beams and columns, rough wood boards, traditional arches and vaults, shaded overhangs and bright colorful Argentine traditional fabrics became the pallet of materials used inside and out. The use of these materials to create a warm, darkened, rustic feeling space with a modern aesthetic.

The exterior of the building needed to also evoke the feeling of the Argentine Pampas. There was not any latitude to change the shell of the stucco box. Using imagery of Argentine villages and estancias the stucco box was reimagined with articulations created by use of soft looking oxidized steel peaked roof element to indicate an entry condition, the mass of the box was increased and decreased and stepped in slightly at the outdoor dining area. Rustic wood beams and columns were added to the exterior. Large oxidized steel planter boxes were added to define the outdoor space and separate the outdoor dining space from the parking lot surrounding the building.

At the prominent entry area two oxidized steel sculptures depicting stylized steers, standing under a tree in the shade, next to a collection of large clay wine flasks invokes the foretaste of succulent grilled meats and robust red wine enjoyed in the typical Argentine Parrilla environment.