Dezeen Magazine

La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni

Heritage building in Uruguay houses new bakery and cafe by Pedro Livni Arquitecto

Extending this historic home in the capital of Uruguay has allowed architect Pedro Livni to reconfigure living spaces into a cafe, and place a bakery in the courtyard.

La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni

La Linda is an artisanal cafe and bakery built within a 1927 garden house in the country's capital Montevideo. The bakery spaces required did not fit into the original home, so the architect chose to build an extension at the back for these areas.

La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni

"It was decided to use the house for the public, and incorporate the production area in a new plan extension," said Pedro Livni Arquitecto.

La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni

The new bakery is a longitudinal volume that intersects the heritage-listed home. At the point where the structures meet, two angled columns provide additional support, creating an A-shaped outline.

La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni

Such a large structural support allowed the architect to make the bakery's walls out of glass, so that customers in the courtyard could observe the food production inside.

La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni

"It allows a total opening to the exterior and makes the production sector, like in a theater, a part of the garden's visual scenery," said Livni.

La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni

This space has an industrial character, and is lit by a grid of simple neon tube lights. This contrasts the old house nearby, which was preserved as much as possible.

La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni

"From a material point of view, the preexisting sectors are restored keeping the original floors and woodwork," explained Livni.

La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni

To make the interiors feel more neutral, the architect chose to paint the walls and ceiling white, "as a way of erasing the weight of its previous inhabitation."

Images of the bakery show a simple chequerboard floor, with details like a marble counter and restored crown mouldings. The interiors are generously lit from a series of skylights.

La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni

Bakeries have been created in old buildings all over the world, including a London post office and a timber-framed house in Fukuoka.

Photography is by Pablo Casals Aguirre.

More images and plans

La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni
Site diagram
La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni
Axonometric plan
La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni
La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni
La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni
La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni
La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni
La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni
La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni
La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni
La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni
La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni
La Linda Bakery by Pedro Livni