cream colored tiles line the countertop of a coffee shop, with bar stools lined up across the space — Feldhaus crafted the tiles cladding the counter; the bar stools are by &Tradition.

January 13, 2023

A Classic Coffee Machine Informs the Design of This Chic Café in Kazakhstan

For the specialty coffee shop Julius, tucked into the heart of Kazakhstan’s Almaty neighborhood, a classic La Marzocco coffee machine wasn’t just an essential piece of culinary equipment: it was the inspiration for the entire design. When ABR Group asked the New Architects of Almaty Workshop (NAAW) team to brew up the look of the 450-square-foot café, they looked to the machine’s red exterior for the signature front door and accents, including the logo and brand identity.

Coffee itself inspired the material palette of rich wood and creamy vaulted ceilings. German clinker bricks also take pride of place. “This is exciting for us, how the material works in different ways,” says Elvira Bakubayeva, architect and NAAW cofounder. “They transition from the entrance steps outside to the internal flooring and up to the countertop of the coffee bar,” forming a kind of stage for the coffee machine and all it can do.

the exterior of a coffee shop, where a waiter walks toward a woman sitting at a table — Guests caffeinate al fresco upon chairs by Gubi.

red shaded pendant lights hang above bench seating, with small wood tables in front — &Tradition pendants hang above custom tables and Philipp Mainzer stools.

a wooden table holds a newspaper and red mushroom lamp inside a coffee shop — A Gubi chair pulls up to a custom table by Abubakr Erkinov.

bench seating lines the wall in front of a checkout counter at a coffee shop — Bakhtiyar crafted the custom panels of American white oak veneer that clad walls and form doors.

two modern chairs round a wooden table underneath a charcoal sketch of a woman hanging on the wall of a coffee shop — Gubi chairs and a custom table gather upon floor tile by Feldhaus; the charcoal sketch is by Nurbol Nurakhmet.

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