VAFFEL | CAFE | MURMANSK

A café of 78 m² in Murmansk, and the first interior in a design standard the chain will carry into its other cities. A repeatable identity has to rest on a set of moves rather than on one-off details, so the whole scheme was built from a few of them, each strong enough to survive a change of plan and of ceiling height.

The first of those moves is the ceiling. Warm sandy paint covers the slab together with every duct, tray and pipe above it, and that single surface sets the tone for the room beneath. Under it the colder textures of concrete and terrazzo are balanced by light birch plywood and soft upholstery, so the space reads bright and calm rather than industrial.

The layout stays airy, and glass-block partitions divide the room without closing it, carrying daylight deep into the plan. Light is handled precisely: slim cylinders, white cones, and a large backlit disc that holds the main wall. Colour is concentrated in one place, the patterned yellow tile along the counter, where the brand speaks at full strength.