GOE

TOPAKETAK is an architecture of encounter, made for people.
More than a place, it is the meeting point between…
…the Gros neighbourhood and Mount Ulia…
…Donostia and the world…
…Sky and Earth…
…nature and technology…
…materiality and sensitivity…

Topaketak brings together the five senses, just as they come together in the art of gastronomy.

The project occupies a privileged location at the transition between Mount Ulia and the Gros neighbourhood. At this meeting point between landscape and city, the building is divided into two volumes, allowing the green mantle to flow between them, becoming the roof of the building and opening a passage from Ulia towards the city. In the opposite direction, the vitality of the Gros neighbourhood filters through the façade, extending into Manteo.

The building is structured around six courtyards —or “baskets”— and slender columns along the perimeter of the façade. Together, they support the building without the need for additional internal vertical supports, creating a completely open and flexible space.

In essence, it is a horizontal agora: a place for encounters, where stories begin.

The six “baskets” structure this horizontal Agora, defining the different areas and uses while simultaneously connecting the spaces vertically.

Views intersect across the different levels, revealing glimpses of the activities taking place in each area while maintaining the necessary levels of security and privacy.
Three of the “baskets” are designed to bring natural light and ventilation into the open-plan space, while the others accommodate vertical circulation—for people, products and materials—as well as building services.
At the same time, they lift the BCCinn floors towards the sky, creating a horizontal garden that opens fully onto the neighbourhood and the city.
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Through these concepts, we create a space where creativity, innovation and development applied to gastronomy become a catalyst for economic and social growth, while providing a means to express cultural values and identity.

The result is a building that connects with its surroundings, deliberately seeking this relationship in order to embody the present while embracing modernity, with the flexibility to adapt to future needs.