VyTA Santa Margherita is a unique little bakery of magnificent design quality and unique architecture. Located in Florence, Italy, the bakery shop design is the brainchild of Colli Daniela Architetto, the Italian-based architecture studio of Daniela Colli. The unique design combines the beauty and solidity of old structures and antique marble with modern hardware and chic contemporary designs and principles to create a beautiful architectural masterpiece.
Daniela Colli, the genius behind the work, graduated in architecture in Florence in 1994 and later completed postgraduate work in London. She works with many famous professionals, including Massimiliano Fuksas and has worked on several intensive and highly technical projects including the restructuring of Italian train stations. Colli has an innate ability to combine the contemporary and modern with the historical and antique. Her ventures have spanned multiple industries as she has worked in everything from furniture to interior design to urban architecture.
The bakery, VyTA Santa Margherita, was built in what was formerly a waiting room of the Santa Maria Novella train station which was designed in the 1930s by Giovanni Michelucci. The design maintains many of the elements of the vintage train station while also incorporating beautiful modern hardware like pristine glass and elegant pink copper. The baked goods themselves are encased in a beautiful glass display case that sits atop an ornate copper counter. The warm beautiful copper reflects the cool grays and deep, lush fern greens of the cool marble floor.
A magnificent pink copper element in the form of an inverted ‘L’ beautifully frames the back side of the bakery counter and meets with the ceiling where it hangs majestically over the entire wrap-around counter. The large overhanging element is composed of thin copper plates pieced together carefully to create a beautiful pattern of voids and volumes that allows for airflow while also providing a partition and place for lighting.
The VyTA logo is dazzlingly etched into a vast copper rectangle that is attached to the “L” shaped piece. The lettering is displayed in such a way that it lets in light behind it to exquisitely illuminate the letters “VyTA” and the logo underneath as well as the cursive script “Santa Margherita.” A long green marble countertop area for eating lines the back of the bakery countertop behind the interesting copper divider element. Numerous teal bar stools with a comfortable modern design form a line below the counter area.
Along both walls is some fine wood paneling with photographs paying homage the space’s heritage, as it was once a railroad station. The lighting of the entire space perfectly harnesses the majestic qualities of the mirrored copper surfaces and smooth, cool marble giving the entire bakery a warm, inviting feel while also offering a cool, calm, and serene escape from the outside hustle and bustle of the city.
The teal walls nicely complement the lovely copper light fixtures graced with glass basins. Hanging fixtures with spherical bulbs on the end add the perfect element to the gallery of old photographs. A large clock with white background and black minute and hour hands adds a handsome touch of sophistication to the space.
Architects and laymen alike flock to the beautiful VyTA Santa Margherita bakery’s Florence location to find respite from their busy lives and enjoy the serenity and grandeur of beautiful modern architecture with a historic flair.
