Media: Elle Decor
Original Tittle: Érase una vez un soñador y una naranja
Author: Marisa Santamaría
Photography: Diego Opazo
Date: Diciembre 2020
Vicente Todolí, one of the world’s leading art experts, has a unique agricultural project in Palmera, Valencia, that nourishes the earth and the soul. His fellow countryman, the architect Carlos Salazar, is the architect behind the pavilion where research and experimentation take place.
His name is on the list of the best art connoisseurs in the world, he directed the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto and was director of the Tate Modern in London until 2010. At the moment, Vicente Todolí is in charge of the artistic development of Hangar Biccoca in Milan, is art advisor to Bombas Gens in Valencia, the Inelcom collection of contemporary art and the Botín Foundation: ‘After living in New York, in Oporto, in London, I felt that something was missing, a piece of a puzzle that was not complete and that I found in placing value on working with my hands, in participating in the vitality of the earth and its cycles’. The pace of life he led at the time contrasted with the patience and serenity needed to see the desired fruits of the field sprout: ‘My adventure with agriculture had begun more than ten years ago with the cultivation of olive trees and the production of oil, but as time went by I discovered that my true agricultural vocation had more to do with citrus fruits, which have been my family tradition for five generations. I realised that a number of local varieties were disappearing and I decided to set up the Fundació Todolí Citrus, in Palmera, Valencia, with the intention of giving another dimension to the culture of agriculture in Spain,’ explains Vicente Todolí.
In this process, his friendship with Ferrán Adriá, the foundation’s gastronomic advisor, was fundamental; the knowledge of art and gastronomy intersected with the creativity and energy of both.
the creativity and energy of both. On a joint trip, the chef discovered Todolí’s private collection of citrus fruits and the existence of more than 400 varieties. ‘This was the turning point, a revelation that led me to take new paths in his research and motivated me to buy the land near the ones I already had to grow them, and I have also reached agreements with the local authorities to prevent construction nearby.
The foundation’s headquarters are located on one of the family properties, where an existing warehouse has been renovated to become the centre of operations: the Bartolí Lab.
AN INTENTIONAL PAVILION
The Valencian architect Carlos Salazar was in charge of the construction: ‘Vicente Todolí and I have common origins, we understood landscape, light and the evolution of time very well.It is a light pavilion, very aerial, where light is of fundamental importance.The interior is permanently connected to the exterior, in fact, most of the elements are mobile, they move from one space to another, this was very important to underline the condition of a place of gastronomic experimentation. Gastronomy today is understood as a complete culinary experience, it has to do with the senses and is reinforced by the place where it happens’, says Salazar.
The building blends into the landscape, camouflages itself and gets lost in the vegetation. This effect has been achieved, in large part, thanks to the colour of the façade, a unique tone that is the same as the surrounding earth.
‘Initially it was going to be white, but Vicente tried a mixture of the colour of the earth, which was a success. The whole process has developed with the impulse of several successive dialogues between Vicente Todolí, Ferrán Adriá’s ideas and proposals and the architectural and design vision that I have been able to contribute. It was important to emphasise innovation, it is a singular and sophisticated space where the integration into the landscape and the incidence of light, the unique light of Valencia, is transcendental’, concludes Carlos Salazar.
