A new bistro in the Uruguayan capital uses Yves Klein blue to alluring effect. Bisiesto, on the main floor of a neoclassical stone building in Pocitos, downtown Montevideo, has used the colour as its calling card, from splashes in the decorative windows to garden furnishings and long stretches of panelling.

Buenos Aires-based architecture practice Vang Studios headed up the design, with Una Studio executing. They balanced out the colour with classical built-ins in earthy high-drama marble, complemented by deep taupe banquettes. Seating is hard, black and minimal, offset by lush greenery planted wherever possible. Even the wood communal table that works its way through the interior has a planter embedded in its joint. Heritage foundations remain intact, and the walls were left raw to allow contemporary interventions to pop.

Uruguayan tile manufacturer Cerámicas del Castillo provided decorative tilework for the walled rear garden, lit by streamlined pendant lights in the prevailing blue. They come in handy as the day service shifts to night — Bisiesto is nearly always open for business.

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