Rubra, designed by Ana Paula de Alba and Ignacio Urquiza for chef Daniela Soto-Innes, is a monolithic restaurant in Punta Nayarit, Mexico, that blurs the lines between building, landscape, and experience.
Follow a narrow path enclosed by lush vegetation until you reach a concrete façade, then continue through a 6-meter-tunnel that releases onto a wide terrace with panoramic views of Banderas Bay and the Sierra Madre Occidental.
The architecture unfolds as a series of sand-hued concrete volumes of varying heights and shapes. These house the open kitchen, bar, wine cellar, and seating areas, while integrated flowerbeds provide both greenery and built-in benches. The layout channels breezes through cross-ventilation and frames stunning views of jungle and sea.
Overhead, a column-free 10-by-15-meter roof floats above the main dining area. Structured with a pergola grid and framed in wooden lattices, it allows dappled light to filter in by day while providing ample shade. A sliding glass façade can enclose the space in inclement weather without breaking the connection to the outdoors.
The entire project is unified by a single material: textured, sand-tone concrete developed in collaboration with designer Pablo Kobayashi. The warm tone references the local coastline, while the rounded corners evoke traditional Pacific Mexican architecture.
Interior landscaping by Thalia Davidoff uses native plant species to blur the boundary between natural and built environments. Flowerbeds appear to erupt organically from the architecture, as if the jungle had been invited inside.
All furniture and accessories—from tables and benches to coat stands and tableware—were custom-designed by de Alba, Urquiza, and a team of collaborators including Claire Lippman (CHerie), Nouvel Glass, Mauviel, and Carlos Matos.
Quiet, contextual, and carefully calibrated, Rubra is a study in architectural restraint. It’s a place where concrete feels soft, the line between jungle and dining room dissolves, and every element contributes to a singular sensory experience.
