–Cocina Hermanos Torres | Hitachi VRF project in Barcelona, Spain
VRF
The place: an old industrial building transformed into Michelin-star restaurant
The two brothers Sergio and Javier Torres are successful chefs at the forefront of the Spanish culinary scene. They relentlessly work on creative recipes and flawless service to propose a world-class dining experience. Their restaurant Cocina Hermanos Torres, opened in Barcelona in 2018, earned its third Michelin stars five years later.
The restaurant is located in a 800sq.m old industrial building. It comes an open kitchen, placing the kitchen in the epicenter of the large open dining space. The guests and chefs can interact and participate together to the dining experience. At Cocina Hermanos Torres, “the kitchen is the restaurant” reports Archdaily.com.
“It’s important that the air conditioning reaches the guests without disrupting the cooking”
Sergio and Javier Torres, chefs and restaurant owners.
With the open cooking in the middle of the venue, the Torres brothers were particularly caring about the air conditioning, having experienced problematic HVAC in their previous restaurant. They insisted that the air should be consistently pleasant all around the large dining room, for guests to feel comfortable, but in the same time, the airflow should be unnoticeable, especially for the staff and delicate dish plating process.
The solution: Hitachi VRF provides “enveloping” air for a luxurious dining experience
Hitachi VRF modular top-flow SET FREE SIGMA was selected to cool and heat the restaurant in every season. The chosen FSXN1E series was the most energy efficient* of all Hitachi Cooling & Heating VRF units. Two refrigerant systems are installed:
- For the dining spaces: 54HP SET FREE SIGMA combination of 3 modules, combined with 9 ducted indoor units
- For the staff-only rooms: 12HP single-outdoor SET FREE SIGMA unit, combined with 8 indoor units of various types.
- The indoor ducted units are coupled with Hitachi remote temperature sensors, to ensure accurate reading of the actual temperature close to the dining tables.
- A Central Station Mini was easily connected thanks to Hitachi’s flexible H-LINK II communication system. The restaurant’s management can instantly monitor and operate the air conditioning of the entire place from the touchscreen.
“The air conditioning is soft, not direct… it’s enveloping. This is excellence”
Sergio and Javier Torres
The Hitachi VRF completely met the chefs’ high expectations. The airflow delivered by Hitachi ducted units is very subtle yet powerful to maintain a perfect temperature inside the restaurant all year long.
By concealing the indoor units, the air conditioning is invisible. The interior design is 100% preserved, mixing luxurious elements with minimalism of the old industrial building.
To the chefs’ great satisfaction, they could observe low-noise levels of the AC, which also plays a major role to the guests’ enjoyment.
Last but not least, the superior energy efficiency of Hitachi SET FREE SIGMA met the aspirations of the chefs, to reduce the energy consumption and carbon footprint of their incredible restaurant.
*At the time of project
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Location
Barcelona, Spain
Project
Retrofit
Date of Installation
2018
Total System Capacity
66HP. Cooling 183.5kW. Heating 202.5kW.
Outdoor units
5x SET FREE SIGMA
Indoor units
17 indoor units. 14x ducted units (RPI-**FSN4E & RPI-**FSN4E); 2x 4-way cassettes (RCIM-**FSN4); 1x wall-mounted units (RPK-**FSN3M)
Controls
1x Central Station Mini (PSC-A32MN)
