Platinum A' Design Award Winner 2025
Upon entering the visual field, listeners encounter a spacious contemporary cafe interior bathed in brilliant cool white light that suggests the clarity of a bright overcast day or the even illumination of a well-lit gallery space, creating an atmosphere of serene openness and calm precision. The overall impression conveys immaculate cleanliness, geometric order, and a sense of floating lightness achieved through extensive use of white surfaces and transparent materials that seem to dissolve traditional boundaries between areas. Scanning from left foreground moving rightward and then into depth, the immediate lower left portion contains a sweeping curved banquette upholstered in warm cognac-brown leather, its continuous ribbon form resembling a gentle wave or elongated S-curve that extends across roughly one-quarter of the visible width, topped with five square cushions in the same rich brown leather that feel soft as a well-worn saddle, spaced at regular intervals along the white banquette base which appears smooth and cool like painted plaster. Moving upward and rightward from this seating element, the middle distance reveals a series of vertical transparent glass partitions rising from floor to ceiling, framed in slender white mullions that divide the space into approximately five or six distinct bays or alcoves, each partition glowing softly with cool white light along its edges as though illuminated from within the glass itself, creating vertical planes that feel both present and ephemeral, solid enough to define space yet transparent enough to see through multiple layers into the distance. Within these glass-defined bays, the upper level contains seating vignettes positioned perhaps eight to ten feet above the main floor level, accessed presumably by stairs not visible in this view, each alcove furnished with a small white table appearing smooth and matte like lacquered wood, paired with sculptural chairs whose bentwood frames create distinctive triangular or X-shaped silhouettes in pale blond wood that suggests ash or beech, lightweight and elegant, and above each seating group hangs a slender brass pendant light fixture descending on a thin rod approximately four to five feet long, terminating in a small circular brass shade angled downward like a focused reading lamp, the warm golden brass providing punctuation against the prevailing cool whites. The lighting throughout feels even and diffused, coming from multiple sources including recessed fixtures in the white textured ceiling that appears to have a subtle diagonal linear pattern suggesting acoustic tiles or decorative molding, the edge-lit glass partitions contributing ambient glow, and the brass pendants adding warm focal pools, altogether creating illumination that is bright without harshness, gentle without dimness, maintaining visibility throughout while avoiding dramatic shadows. The right middle ground contains the service counter and display area where the cafe operations occur, marked by illuminated glass cases glowing with warm light that reveals organic shapes in golden brown and amber tones suggesting fresh-baked bread, croissants, and pastries, their rough crusty textures and irregular forms contrasting with the geometric precision of the surrounding architecture, while silver and white equipment including what appears to be an espresso machine adds functional detail, these warmer tones and organic shapes providing necessary visual and conceptual contrast to the minimalist architecture. The background recedes through multiple layers of transparent glass, each plane slightly visible through the next, creating depth through atmospheric perspective where distant elements appear slightly hazier, the furthest walls barely discernible as soft white surfaces, the entire spatial sequence suggesting a total depth of perhaps fifty to sixty feet from foreground to back wall. The floor appears as smooth white or very pale gray, its reflective surface suggesting polished concrete or seamless resin that feels cool and solid underfoot, contributing to the floating sensation by providing minimal visual interruption. Throughout the space, the prevalence of white creates a sense of expansion and airiness, the room feeling larger than its physical dimensions might suggest, while the temperature conveys coolness both literally in color temperature and atmospherically in the sense of a controlled, calm environment where sounds would be softened and movements deliberate, the overall sensory impression suggesting a sanctuary-like quality where the outside world's chaos cannot penetrate, inviting visitors to slow their pace and attend carefully to the present moment and the sensory pleasures of well-crafted coffee and companionship in thoughtfully designed surroundings.
This theater style cafe has a huge roasting machine, allowing visitors to enjoy the story of how coffee is made. The show's star, the roasting machine, is placed on a stage at the back of the store. A bean cellar, the symbol of Arabica, surrounds the back and enlivens the starring role. A kitchen counter is placed at the position of the orchestra pit, and the atrium above it allows the pleasant sound of the baristas to echo throughout the store. Sheer curtains are installed as partitions in the box seats, to accommodate Saudis concerned about the distance between men and women.