When Rafal Kupusta, founder and creative director of OOZN Design, first knuckled down to creating its space experience, he saw the importance of making the cafe stand out in a competitive coffee market.

“We wanted to use design to make the cafe unique, to make it memorable,” Kapusta shares. The 16-metre store front was the first thing the architect wanted to leverage to advantage. For that, a finned timber slat feature wraps and undulates over the entire back wall and ceiling, creating a strong yet soft, cavernous, and welcoming space. More subtly, it also sculpts the cafe into zones including a bar, a communal area and a cosier coffee area.

The plywood slats are spaced apart at 150mm intervals. Each one is shaped, cut and assembled on site, mounted to a secondary frame. As Kapusta writes in the design statement, “The veneer plywood were hand crafted by the local carpenters, meticulously following the unwrapped elevations drawn by us. Varying depth of the fins not only create a strong visual impact, they also hide the ceiling equipment and improve the acoustics inside the cafe. With music in the background and heavy flow of customers, individuals are still able to enjoy a chitchat over a nice cup of coffee.”

A combination of industrial raw (concrete screed floor, and metal finishes in furniture and lighting accessories) and rustic timber (feature wall and wood tones in chairs and tables) come together to create a comfortable space. “I think the dark interior paint, and the warm, natural tones of timber, make people feel relaxed,” Kapusta shares. Lighting is also soft and soothing.

Outside, Kapusta designed larger alfresco seating. “We couldn’t find what we wanted, so we created sofas and tables large enough for bigger groups, for extra comfort. These were designed by us and made locally. On weekends, there is live music, and people really love to hang out here.”

OOZN Design
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