GUSTAVO’S PIZZA | Restaurant Design

Gustavo’s Pizza: A Colorful Pizzeria Concept

From the neighborhood’s melting pot to an extension with a different story

Gustavo’s Pizza was born from the client’s wish to expand Luppoleria, the venue we had designed the year before. The concept began from varied inspirations, meant to reflect the melting pot of the neighborhood that hosts it, a place that over the years has become home to people from every part of the world.

We deliberately blended different styles, materials, suggestions and stories to describe this colorful world, without searching for a single stylistic direction but letting the contrasts become part of the venue’s own narrative.

A mosaic of styles telling a neighborhood’s story

Tropical patterned wallpaper, terrazzo effect tiles, red painted metal structures and a backlit green glass block counter coexist without fear of contrast. Each material carries its own reference, composing a whole that reads more like a collage than a single defined style.

Details that become protagonists

A neon sign reading Birra Moretti, ceramic heads sprouting plants and a mannequin bust wearing sunglasses enclosed in a display case are just some of the elements that populate the venue, turning every corner into its own small scene within the overall story.

A passage that changes the story

From the same desire for expansion came the enlargement of the venue, yet even though the goal stayed the same, the story to tell was different. Once through the small opening connecting the two spaces, the narrative changes completely, moving from the colorful collage of the original pizzeria to a more intimate and material driven environment.

Custom furniture for old walls

In this second room, covered by exposed brick vaults, every piece of furniture was custom designed to fit against the old walls, full of imperfections and often not perfectly orthogonal, creating an environment that dialogues with the past while bringing a completely new venue to Piacenza. Wine display shelving and floral patterned tiles complete the more intimate atmosphere of this second room.

Plants as silent characters

This interior too is filled with plants, which become true characters able to animate the whole story, sitting at the table with guests in a sense and bringing a touch of nature to every corner of the venue, from the glass block counter to the room with the brick vaults.

From Gustavo’s Pizza to our approach to restaurant design

The Gustavo’s Pizza project shows how VANDA approaches the design of venues able to tell more than one story within the same space, blending different materials and references without losing overall coherence. This approach continues to guide our work designing restaurants and venues across Italy and Europe.

Related projects

Discover also the CASE LEONI and LivinUp SeiMilano projects.