A high-design soup kitchen opens in Paris

Inside the vaulted crypt of Paris’ L’église de la Madeleine church, rows of tables sit below an installation of floating clouds by French artist JR. Each table is adorned with a lamp and a pristine place-setting, giving it the appearance of a high-end restaurant. In fact, the space, Refettorio Paris, is a community kitchen designed to serve 100 meals a day to those who can’t afford a meal on their own.

Refettorio Paris is the work of renowned Italian chef Massimo Bottura, who for the last few years has been opening artfully-crafted community kitchens in Italy and Brazil. For Refettorio Paris, Bottura’s non-profit, Food for Soul, is partnering with restaurants across the city to transform perfectly-good waste-bound food into gourmet meals.

Shehan Hanwellage via The Spaces

The Paris space, which will remain open permanently and staffed by volunteers, serves as a parallel to other recent projects that elevate traditionally neglected institutions though design—think reimagined affordable housing from the likes of Pritzker winner Alejandro Aravena and resourceful architecture students.

Via: The Spaces