Samuel Navarro Serpa
Casa FOA 2026, Buenos Aires.Photo: Courtesy
Renata Vedda and Ignacio Martínez Todeschini design Space 25 in Buenos Aires, with a special mention from Roca
By Samuel Navarro Serpa
Space 25 of Casa FOA 2026 occupies the public-use and exhibition restrooms of Palacio Molina, a former Alpargatas factory in the Barracas neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
Casa FOA 2026, Buenos Aires.Photo: Courtesy
It is an attraction at one of Argentina’s most visited architecture, interior design and landscaping shows. Architect Renata Vedda, of the firm RVA, and industrial designer Ignacio Martínez Todeschini, of IMTodeschini, are the authors of the project, which received a special mention from Roca.
Journey in two stages
In a high-traffic space, the program required a technical and narrative response on a short timeline. The duo started from the structure’s textures and scars, marks of its transformation. From them, they evoke a cave that recalls an abandoned, dark and forgotten building, and that gradually brightens as technology advances.
Sounds, vegetation and materials guide the first stage and expose the erosion of time. The second rises toward the surface and leads to the functional area, with toilet stalls and a changing room, where the present appears in handcrafted work and custom-made lighting fixtures.
Casa FOA 2026, Buenos Aires.Photo: Courtesy
Casa FOA 2026, Buenos Aires.Photo: Courtesy
More than 42 spaces at Casa FOA 2026, spread across 5,700 square meters, bring 19th-century industrial architecture closer to contemporary design under the curatorial concept of Alchemy. Installed in a factory abandoned for years, one of the first in the Argentine capital and now home to the show, the project treats the building as raw material and gives it daily occupation again.
Casa FOA 2026, Buenos Aires.Photo: Courtesy
Each element rests on materiality and narrative, conceived through design. To build them, the duo brought together workshops, companies and collaborators from different regions of Argentina, in a network that unites local craft and author-led creation.
Casa FOA 2026, Buenos Aires.Photo: Courtesy
Casa FOA 2026, Buenos Aires.Photo: Courtesy
From the design statement comes the synthesis of the intention: to make the restroom a space for reconnection, an intimate place to step away from the bustle of the show. “Because dwelling is also this: finding a place to return to oneself.”
Casa FOA 2026, Buenos Aires.Photo: Courtesy
Vedda holds a degree from the University of Buenos Aires, where she teaches, and founded RVA in 2022, with more than 25 expansion, renovation and interior projects. Previously, she led the project team at a development company and was responsible for construction management of multifamily residential buildings, totaling over 20,000 square meters.
Martínez Todeschini, who graduated with honors from the same institution, created the brand Bilu and has won awards in Italy, the United States and France, in addition to the Argentine Good Design Seal. He also worked with Ignacio Noel on the CONCAV lighting collection, shown at Paris Design Week 2026.
Martínez Todeschini, who graduated with honors from the same institution, created the brand Bilu and has won awards in Italy, the United States and France, in addition to the Argentine Good Design Seal.
Casa FOA 2026, Buenos Aires.Photo: Courtesy
Friends for over a decade, they met in technical training in industrial design and worked together in booth D07 of SaloneSatellite, at Salone del Mobile.Milano 2025, with a collection of luminaires.
Space 25 is at Palacio Molina, 1053 Avenida Regimiento de Patricios, Barracas, Buenos Aires, in the 42nd edition of Casa FOA 2026, which runs Oct. 1 to Nov. 1, 2026, from noon to 8 p.m. (until 11 p.m. on Fridays).
