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      Keiji Ashizawa uses “rough materials” to create cosy restaurant interior

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      Wood-wool cement-board walls and concrete tabletops feature in this Tokyo restaurant interior by Japanese architect Keiji Ashizawa.Located a few minutes walk from Kawaguchi station in one of Tokyo’s largest commuter towns, Grillno is a cosy, 26-seat restaurant that serves a menu of smoked and grilled dishes.

      Top image: tables and chairs made from concrete, steel and wood furnish the interior. Above: dim lighting sets the mood
      Built on the second floor of a concrete apartment building, the moodily lit interior features walls made from grey wood wool cement board alongside oak floors and doors.
      An open kitchen with a long concrete counter allows diners to watch the chefs at work as they eat.
      “There are two fundamental inspirations,” said Ashizawa, “the building materials used for the thirty-year-old concrete apartment building and the food ingredients the restaurant uses daily.”

      The textured walls are made from grey wood wool cement board

      The 62-square-metre restaurant only opens in the evening, so guests typically experience the space at sunset or after dark.
      “The space gets some natural daylight from the entrance,” Ashizawa told Dezeen. “The gentle light from the setting sun creates a spectacular atmosphere during the opening hours.”

      A concrete counter stretches along the length of the open kitchen
      The restaurant’s owner is a friend of the Tokyo-based architect, as well as a regular collaborator.
      “Since starting his career as a chef, I have been supporting him with the planning of his restaurants — and enjoying eating what he cooks, of course,” Ashizawa explained.
      “As Grillno is a restaurant specialised in smoked and grilled dishes, we began by planning an open kitchen and a long concrete counter around the kitchen so that people could enjoy watching the chef cook while eating.”

      A suspended steel lamp hovers over the concrete counter
      A thin, long steel suspension lamp hangs above the concrete counter to create an even light for dining.
      “We believe that good restaurants can welcome people in many situations, whether you come by yourself, with your friends and family or for your night out,” continued Ashizawa.
      “To make the most out of the space as possible, we planned different types of seating arrangements.”

      Campana brothers use hollow terracotta blocks for São Paulo Aesop store

      These include the rounded counter, which seats up to 14 diners, alongside two cosy wooden tables for couples that are tucked away in a recess, and three tables that seat up to four people on a mix of chairs and benches.

      Dining tables for couples are placed in a recess
      “With a few rough materials, worked expertly by craftsmen, we tried to achieve a relaxing atmosphere with moments of tension to match the food and hospitality,” explained Ashizawa.
      Incorporating industrial materials that are generally perceived as “rough” into commercial interiors is popular among architects and designers.
      Lisbon-based Inês Brandão has created a kitchen from oriented strand board inside a converted barn home in Portugal, while brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana applied hollow ceramic bricks, typically used to build external walls, in a shop interior for Aesop in Sao Paulo.

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      Biasol plays off Wes Anderson's whimsical style with The Budapest Cafe in Melbourne

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      Melbourne-based interior design studio Biasol used earthy hues and stylised architectural motifs to create a destination inspired by Wes Anderson’s symmetry and nostalgic colour palette.The Budapest Cafe in Carlton, Melbourne is Biasol’s second edition of its Wes Anderson-informed concept, following a first location in Chengdu, China, that featured marble surfaces and pale pastel greens.
      The 94 square-metre cafe has similar pastel shades, but in earthy colours that have been adapted to its Carlton setting and audience. 

      Top image: counter sits within focal archway. Above image: the studio cover walls with earthy shades

      “Our design draws on Anderson’s meticulous, memorable and magical worlds to create an inviting destination with whimsical character and mythical scenes,” Biasol founder Jean-Pierre Biasol told Dezeen.
      “We were also inspired by his symmetry and quirky set designs; vivid and nostalgic colour palettes; and the sentiment that infuses his films,” Biasol continued. 

      Caned chairs and banquette seating fill the space
      The studio played with depth by applying dark tones like terracotta and orange to the walls, while softer beige and sand hues blanket the fanciful elements in the foreground – including focal archways reminiscent of Wes Anderson’s 2014 feature film, The Grand Budapest Hotel.
      “We evolved the design and experience to an earthy colour palette reflecting our local sensibilities,” Biasol explained.
      Rust-red upholstered banquettes wrap around the space, adding texture and warmth to the double-height space, and envelop a bar table that functions as the centre of the seating area. 

      Architectural motifs decorate the walls
      A large sand-textured archway frames a glossy, tubular point-of-sale counter in terracotta, both of which draw customers through the space. Subtle silver hardware, meanwhile, provides a bright, metallic contrast to the softer tones. 
      The studio’s fondness for modern abstract art, design, and hospitality informed its decision to create “an immersive gallery-like experience,” Biasol said.
      This led to an exploration of form and colour, with the aim of designing a place where art meets architecture.

      Danielle Brustman decorates children’s centre in Melbourne with pastel hues and rainbow murals

      By reducing the interior’s built form, the studio created a dramatic visual aesthetic. Stylised steps to nowhere embellish the venue’s walls, rising behind the tubular counter framed within arched alcoves and encouraging patrons to engage with and capture the “imaginative and evocative” design.

      Appliances contrast the earthy setting
      “With a richer palette and bolder design, the new cafe is timeless and contemporary for its Melbourne patrons, while still offering a relaxed and indulgent atmosphere and hospitality experience,” Biasol said.
      The Budapest Cafe is one of many projects the studio have completed globally. In 2019 Biasol completed contemporary dining spaces for Grind in southeast London, as well the interiors for this east London townhouse.
      Photography is by Derek Swalwell.

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      Plantea Estudio casts minimalist Madrid restaurant in shades of beige

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      Spanish firm Plantea Estudio has layered “light and warm” materials such as plywood and chipboard to create the interior of this Madrid street food restaurant.Called Zuppa, the eaterie is located on one of the city centre’s main streets, the Calle de Atocha, and occupies a commercial space that was previously home to an Indian takeaway.

      The informal dining area features steel frame furniture (above) and a central oak table (top image)
      The 127-square-metre restaurant offers a menu of street food and homemade soups, which can be taken to go or eaten inside of a small, informal dining area.
      Plantea Estudio restored the original storefront, which had been altered by the previous owners, and installed bespoke pivoting doors with frames made of plywood and iron, and topped with marble handles.

      Built-in benches are paired with wooden stools and steel tables

      For the interior, the firm said it selected materials in “light and warm tones” to create a feeling of continuity and make the space appear larger.
      Although similar in colouring, the materials were chosen for their different textural qualities, with micro-cement and plywood boards forming the walls and floors while chipboard was used to panel the ceiling.

      Plantea Estudio transforms defunct erotic cinema into contemporary art-nouveau theatre

      “The light from the outside envelops them in such a way, that the limits between one and the other blur and the space is expanded to the maximum,” explained the architects.

      The space is anchored by a large communal table
      In contrast to the soft beige tones of the walls and floors, the studio installed furniture and fittings made from black lacquered steel with “geometric and precise” forms.
      Much of this was designed specifically for the project, including a large communal table made from solid oak and finished with a sanded steel top.
      Placed in the centre of the space, it helps to channel the flow of customers between the two entrance doors.

      High tables in front of the counter feature marble tops
      Two built-in, upholstered benches run along the walls on either side, paired with rows of lacquered steel tables and oak stools.
      In the space beyond, two high tables with a steel base and grey Ruivina marble top sit in front of a serving counter made from these same materials and illuminated through integrated lighting.
      Here, customers can eat their food either standing or seated on one of the bar stools with their oak veneer seats.

      A soap dispenser and marble sink are mounted to the bathroom walls
      “All of these elements are introduced into a space where the floor and walls are finished in the same colour, so it looks like they are ‘floating’ in a warm atmosphere,” Plantea Estudio director Luis Gill told Dezeen.
      “The materials that are touched by hand are kind and solid, always pleasant.”
      The illusion of objects levitating in space is carried through to the toilets, where a marble sink and soap dispenser are suspended from the walls.

      Plantea Estudio built custom plywood doors with marble handles
      The interior’s neutral colour scheme chimes with paint brand Dulux’s choice of colour of the year for 2021 – a “reassuring” earthy beige called Brave Gound.
      Dulux argued that this “elemental” shade reflects “our growing desire to align more with the planet and looking towards the future”.
      Plantea Estudio, which was shortlisted for emerging interior design practice of the year at the 2019 Dezeen Awards, has previously transformed a defunct erotic cinema into an art-nouveau theatre.

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      Ménard Dworkind creates retro coffee bar in downtown Montreal

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      Canadian studio Ménard Dworkind has unveiled a retro-themed coffee bar featuring Rubik’s Cube mirrors and a floor tiled to look like checkerboard Vans shoes.Situated in downtown Montreal, Caffettiera Caffé Bar features a monolithic black terrazzo bar that welcomes people into the open space.

      Visitors are greeted with the terrazzo bar upon entering the cafe
      Combining refreshments and a retail display, this main bar emphasises Caffettiera Caffé Bar’s social focus and curves down to meet the checkerboard mosaic floor.
      “The checkered floor was inspired by Vans checkered shoes,” Ménard Dworkind co-founder David Dworkind told Dezeen. “As Guillaume Ménard and I both grew up in the 90s we tapped into our own personal nostalgia.”

      The checkerboard mosaic floor is influenced by Vans shoes

      The cafe’s owner wanted to bring Italian coffee culture for Caffettiera Caffé Bar, where customers are encouraged to linger over a cup.
      “We placed a footrest at the coffee bar so clients can stand there and have a chat with the barista,” said Dworkind.
      “We included a long, standing bar in the middle of the space to increase the density of people with spots in the cafe, which helps to encourage socialising”.

      A standing bar encourages socialising
      Curved mirrors are mounted onto faux-wood plastic laminate panels, a retro material that aims to connect customers through a sense of nostalgia.
      “The 90s theme was the driving force for the colour palette”, explained Dworkind. “The use of plastic laminate fake wood panels on the wall and bright colours were all popular in the 90s. The Rubik’s Cubes to frame the mirrors in the bathrooms is another example of something from our personal memories of the 90s”.

      Rubik’s Cube mirrors feature in the cafe’s bathrooms
      Circular tables boast a variation of five coloured laminates in graphic shapes and framed photographs of iconic fashion models from the decade embellish the walls.
      Tables sit alongside two comfortable tan leather banquettes that face the main bar, making use of the small but open space to create a sociable atmosphere.

      90s nostalgia is emphasised by photographs from the decade
      All of Caffettiera Caffé Bar’s available space offers a chance for customer interaction. The banquettes intersect at a self-service station, behind which a backlit planter is enhanced by the mirrors’ reflection.
      “The long shared banquettes provide the option of sticking the round tables together, and since it’s linear people are actually all seated together”, explained Dworkind.

      Reupholstered vintage chairs match tan leather banquettes in the seating area

      Batay-Csorba designs Milky’s coffee bar in Toronto without furniture

      Curving furniture echoes the shape of the mirrors. Rounded vintage chairs sourced from classified ads have been reupholstered in the same tan leather as the banquettes.
      Continuing the cafe’s curving lines, the ceiling’s exaggerated cornicing is another retro visual element. As with the main bar and the checkerboard floor, the cornicing seamlessly blends the walls and the ceiling together.

      Dynamic blue cornicing brings the ceiling to life
      Lambert & Fils pendant lights are suspended from yellow telephone wire above the seating area, bathing the tables in a warm glow.
      Traditional Italian food products are displayed on a long shelf behind the main bar, where a selection of sandwiches and pastries are served. Cafe merchandise is also for sale.

      The products stocked on the large shelf behind the main bar
      Italian signs illustrating where to pay and order slide along an orange painted steel beam above the bar. Their locations can be rearranged by staff depending on each day’s flow of customers.
      Various 90s books, toys and stickers feature in Caffettiera Caffé Bar’s windows, and around the space, making it a wholly nostalgic experience.
      A similarly retro feel can be found at Baseball, a food court in Hong Kong designed by studio Linehouse, influenced by 70s films.
      Co-founded by Ménard and Dworkind in 2017, previous projects from the Montreal-based studio include a kitsch Chinatown-themed pan-Asian restaurant and a recreation of a 1970s New York pizza parlour.
      Photography is by David Dworkind and Alison Slattery.

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      Mizzi Studio uses pink and emerald green for Barbajean restaurant in Malta

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      Design practice Mizzi Studio paired pink terrazzo with emerald-green velvet and timber to form the bold interior of restaurant Barbajean in Malta.Serving a menu of modern Meditteranean dishes, Barbajean occupies a prominent corner property in the village of Dingli.
      The quiet village sits at the highest point of Malta, and has uninterrupted views out across the ocean towards the uninhabited isle of Filfla.

      Barbajean has a pink and green facade

      Mizzi Studio’s founder, Jonathan Mizzi – who is from Malta – designed the restaurant so that it pays tribute to Dingli and its scenic landscape, but also “injects [the village] with new life”.
      “Working within the village’s particular urban fabric was a key inspiration for us,” said Mizzi.”We wanted to create a restaurant that would stand at the core of a quintessential Maltese village experience.”

      Three arches punctuate the restaurant’s terrazzo-lined bar
      The baby-pink facade of Barbajean has been made to include architraves and coloured doors– two elements that Mizzi says can be seen on the exterior of a typical Maltese home.
      Emerald-green timber doors have been built into the facade’s trio square openings. Each opening is surrounded by a chunky pink-terrazzo architrave, created by Maltese surface manufacturer Halmann Vella.

      Malta-themed artwork has been mounted on Barbajean’s walls
      The pink and green colour scheme continues inside the restaurant. Rose-coloured terrazzo lines the wall behind the drinks bar, which has been punctuated with three arched niches.
      Liquor bottles and glassware are displayed inside the niches, illuminated by neon-pink strip lights that have been installed overhead.
      Rosy terrazzo has also been used to craft the surfacetop of the bar counter, the base of which is made from fluted timber that’s been stained green. Just in front is a row of pink high chairs with tubular brass frames.

      Dining chairs are accompanied by pink-terrazzo tables
      A lengthy seating banquette upholstered in emerald velvet winds its way around the opposite side of the room, accompanied by pink terrazzo tables inlaid with flecks of Guatemala Verde marble.
      Directly above are a series of prints by Maltese illustrator Ed Dingli, which depict quotidian scenes of life in the village.

      Mizzi Studio completes stingray cafe alongside the Serpentine

      In between the prints are custom-made light fixtures designed by Mizzi Studio, which feature curling brass stems and spherical bulbs.
      Surfaces in this area of the restaurant are painted a pale mint shade, but another dining nook that lies towards the rear of the plan has been given a cosier feel with dark-green walls and wooden floorboards.

      Towards the back of the restaurant is another dining nook
      Mizzi Studio was established in 2011 and has offices in both London and Valletta, the capital of Malta. Barbajean isn’t the only hospitality space that the studio has designed – last year it completed works on The Serpentine Coffee House in London’s Hyde Park.
      The venue boasts glass walls and a gold, undulating roof that’s meant to resemble the shape of a stingray.
      Photography is by Brian Grech.
      Project credits:
      Stonework: Halman VellaBrass fabrication: Anvil and ForgeJoinery and upholstery: Construct FurnitureCustom print artwork: Ed DingliBranding: Steves and Co

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      Spacon & X creates casual diner for Noma's burger spinoff POPL

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      Prolific Copenhagen restaurant Noma has opened a burger joint featuring an interior filled with natural materials and plants designed by Spacon & X.Born out of a summer pop-up, POPL is a diner in Copenhagen’s pretty Christianshavn neighbourhood, serving a simple menu of burgers, fries and light bites.
      POPL is designed by Danish studio Spacon & X, the Emerging Interior Designer of the Year from the inaugural Dezeen Awards in 2018.

      POPL is a burger joint in Christianshavn, Copenhagen

      The interior design takes cues from Izakaya, informal drinking venues that can be found in Japan. The aim was to create a raw simplicity but to also create a feeling of warmth and comfort.
      The designers did this with the use of warm colours and materials, which contrast the starkness of the building’s concrete structure. They also added a wooden “plant bridge” above the tables, so that greenery is visible everywhere.

      A plant bridge is suspended above the tables
      “We found it a natural decision that the design concept follows Noma’s approach to the burger: simple, welcoming, and with the best quality ingredients,” explained Malene Hvidt, architect and partner at Spacon & X.
      “The design is welcoming to the extent that guests are not afraid to use the space as a hangout,” she told Dezeen. “The surface materials and careful detailing communicate this through their expressive robustness and honesty.”

      Natural materials feature throughout the interior
      The design centres around the use of natural materials. Acoustic ceiling panels are lined with dried and compressed meadow flowers, which offer a delicate fragrance, while paper lights and artworks are dotted around.
      All of the furniture is made from brown core ash wood. These pieces were all designed bespoke for POPL through a collaboration with furniture brand e15, to help give the restaurant its own identity.

      Spacon & X worked with e15 to create bespoke furniture
      Bespoke tables, chairs, stools, benches and coat hangers are all characterised by simple forms that celebrate the construction joints, fusing Nordic, Japanese and American furniture-making traditions.
      Tables are topped with Richlite, a composite material made from recycled paper and bio-resin. Meanwhile, benches are upholstered in a distinctive yellow leather, which is complemented a tactile red artwork that covers the rear wall.

      Warm tones help to create a cosy atmosphere
      “The focus of this project is on the use of natural materials and craftsmanship,” said e15 founder Philipp Mainzer. “This is very much in line with the approach to our work at e15.”

      BIG overhauls Copenhagen warehouse for Noma 2.0 restaurant

      “Every surface tells a story,” added Hvidt, “like the compressed flower acoustic board solutions, which from a distance are a dappled colour but up-close reveal their texture and scent. Or the red artwork, celebrating the handcraft skill of applying tile mortar.”

      Benches are upholstered in yellow leather
      This is the first time that Spacon & X and e15 have collaborated with Noma, which is regularly named as one of the best restaurants in the world. For Noma’s main venue, it worked with architects BIG, interior designer David Thulstrup and furniture brand Brdr Krüger.
      By allowing a new creative team to put their stamp on the Noma aesthetic, POPL hopes to reach a wider audience.

      The design takes its cues from Japan’s Izakaya drinking venues
      Hvidt hopes visitors will liken the experience to the casual atmosphere of an American diner, even though the space looks very different.
      “We have definitely brought a new dialect to the Noma language,” she added.
      “The nuanced American diner feel is created through elements such as the heavy diner booth typology, but the association is then offset through the care put into the material sourcing, detailing and craftsmanship. The striking yet natural colours again play with the American diner tradition in a Scandinavian context.”
      Photography is by Bjørn Bertheussen.

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      Out Of Office is a Mad Men-inspired drinks bar in Guangzhou

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      The TV show Mad Men informed the retro feel of this bar in Guangzhou, China, which designer Vinki Li has finished with wood-panelled walls, marble floors and plush mid-century furniture.Vinki Li – who is based in Hong Kong – had been told to make the interiors of Out Of Office unlike any other bar in Guangzhou, so she looked to foreign films and television shows for aesthetic inspiration.
      Her main point of reference ended up being Mad Men – a TV series which follows the life and times of Don Draper, a creative director working at an advertising agency on New York’s Madison Avenue during the 1960s.

      The bar is entered via a lobby that looks like a secretary’s office

      Not only is Li a fan of the show, but she liked that its 1960s setting would give her the opportunity to showcase mid-century furnishings inside Out Of Office.
      “I have always been a big fan of mid-century architecture and designs, I considered it very timeless, well-designed…it still feels fresh today,” she told Dezeen.

      A typewriter and old-school telephone top the desk in the lobby
      Li named the bar after season one, episode 13 of Mad Men, in which protagonist Draper leaves the office for the evening and remaining staff members throw a revelrous, alcohol-fuelled party in anticipation of presidential election results.
      “I wanted to create a similar atmosphere when guests come to unwind after working during the day, a feeling of the boss not being here,” added Li.

      The main bar features wood-lined walls and marble floors
      Guests enter Out Of Office via a grey tiled lobby that’s been styled to resemble a secretary’s office, complete with shuttered window blinds.
      At the centre of the space is a glass-topped desk scattered with paraphernalia that would have appeared in workplaces of the 1960s, such as a typewriter and a rotary dial telephone.
      The desk backs onto a tall shelving unit featuring artsy ornaments, leather-bound books and a globe. In the corner of the lobby there’s also a coat rack, off which a suit jacket, tie and fedora hat have been hung.

      Vintage advertisements have been mounted on the walls
      A door leads through to the main bar, where Li has used a palette of rich, dark materials that she felt evoked the “machismo of executive boardrooms”.

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      While the floor boasts a mix of murky-green Kesariyaji marble and white Statuario marble, walls have been lined with cherry wood.
      Vintage advertisements have been mounted as decoration.

      High-gloss steel and velvet was used to make the drinks counter
      The base of the drinks counter is crafted from high-gloss stainless steel and inlaid with strips of caramel-coloured velvet. In front runs a row of stool seats upholstered in chocolate-brown leather.
      Alternatively, guests can choose to sit in one of the heavy mid-century armchairs that have been placed at the centre of the bar.

      Seating has been arranged in desk-style set ups
      Extra clusters of seating run down the side of the room and are hidden by walnut and brass partitions – much like how desk cubicles were screened-off in 1960s offices.
      A select few are able to enjoy their drinks in Out Of Office’s VIP room. It boasts deep-red sofas and a gridded cabinet that displays special whiskies inside illuminated box shelves.

      Out Of Office includes a VIP room for select guests
      The world of television and film offers a wealth of inspiration to designers and architects.
      Earlier this year, Spanish studio Masquespacio created a co-working space in Valencia that draws on a scene from the 1960s film Playtime. British architect Adam Richards also modelled the layout of his home in Petworth, England around the story of post-apocalyptic flick Stalker.
      Photography is by Hoshing Mok.

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      BLUE Architecture Studio adds U-shaped glass box to Shanghai coffee shop

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      Beijing-based BLUE Architecture Studio has renovated the % Arabica West shop in Shanghai’s Xuhui district, adding a glass box and a courtyard to open the cafe up to the surrounding neighbourhood.The studio’s aim for the 50-square-metre renovation was to break the boundary between the commercial space and the street.
      To do so it designed a U-shaped glass box, which contains the coffee counter, till and preparation area, in place of a regular facade. The box is surrounded by a courtyard-style seating area.

      Top: a glass box instead of a facade opens the cafe up. Above: trees in the cafe courtyard make it blend in with the street

      “The space is completely opened up to form a small courtyard around a U-shaped glass box,” the studio said.
      “Curved glass doors that can be completely opened, and ground materials that extend in from the outside.”

      Customers sit on built-in cement benches
      BLUE Architecture Studio also took the minimal style of % Arabica’s shops into consideration when creating the design, which has been shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2020 in the restaurant interior category.
      “The use of materials continues the brand’s consistent minimalist style, using white paint and plain cement as the keynote,” BLUE co-founder and architect Shuhei Aoyama told Dezeen.
      “Green plants become the protagonist of the space, blurring the boundary between indoor and outdoor.”

      The studio used white and grey hues to create the minimalist design
      Built-in cement benches along the walls provide seating space, while green plants were used to enhance the courtyard feel and create a dialogue with the Chinese parasol trees that line the street.
      “The shops make part of their commercial space outdoor and contribute to the city street,” Aoyama said.

      The coffee shop is located in the Xuhui district in Shanghai
      “Although the commercial area of the shops is smaller, they create a rich three-dimensional street space experience, so that people’s life can truly relate to the urban space,” he added.
      An air conditioning system was installed at the outdoor lounge area, as well as an air curtain machine at the entrance, to create a “more pleasant experience” in both winter and summer.

      DooSooGoBang restaurant in South Korea references Buddhist practices

      BLUE Architecture Studio was founded by Japanese architects Yoko Fujii and Shuhei Aoyama in Beijing in 2014.
      The % Arabica West coffee shop will compete against four other restaurant interiors in the restaurant interiors awards category, including the Embers restaurant in Taipei that features a “vortex” of cedar planks and South Korea’s minimalist DooSooGoBang restaurant.
      Photography is by Eiichi Kano.

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