At the end of 2018, on learning that the aging Café Kandl, an outdated restaurant with garden in Vienna’s 7th district, had been abandoned, our client instantly recognized its potential and seized the opportunity. They rented the restaurant and started on a prompt refurbishment. The plan was a contemporary Viennese coffee house: timeless and yet exciting, a family-friendly café with delicious breakfasts and lunches by day, and the best cocktail bar in Vienna by night. But how to achieve these two completely different atmospheres? How to combine the classic and the modern? The IFUB* found the answer within the

Café Kandl Twist,

harnessing both the structurally immutable and the transformable to make the seemingly impossible, possible.

The wood paneling

design was derived from the new Cafe Kandl logo, and is not only visually appealing but also directs to the exits and to the WC. The coat hooks were also positioned to compliment the design. Encircling the main entrance, a curtain of thick yellow fabric protects against wind and noise from the outside.

The graphic design

reaches its peak with the mirrors: here we are met suddenly by the rotated square, which can also be found in other places. The centrally divided rooms and half squares thus become optically "whole" again.

The muted grey of the walls makes the whitewashed domed ceilings appear higher. In contrast, the door to the restrooms was marked with a striking

yellow curtain.

The original windows were unfortunately no longer available and those in place were in poor condition. They were therefore exchanged for high-quality oak windows in an optic well suited to the building. Even when it came to privacy, nothing was left to chance: the interior

shutters

were also designed to match the overall concept.

At night,

the stage is set. In front of the closed red curtain, daring bartenders work their creative magic. While drinking cocktails in Café Kandl, the guests also become part of the show.

By day,

the barista welcomes you with a freshly brewed coffee from the artistically painted espresso machine. With the curtains open, curious eyes are able - and encouraged - to gain an impression of what goes on in the kitchen. Even during the day, the guest and the host mingle as one in Café Kandl.

The cooking takes place directly behind the

window to the kitchen.

Here, the culinary preparations are not kept secret, but are instead purposely advertised with the freshest of ingredients and tastiest recipes.

The WCs are also located "behind a mirror" and are accordingly exciting in their design. In the

entrance to the restroom,

the concentric circles in black and white on the floor are combined with built-in WC cubicles and their bright yellow doors. The washstand is made of the same green marble as the bar: here too, the dark green provides a color contrast to complete the composition.

Half black, half infinite. This is how

the WC-cubicle interiors

appear.

The outdoor seating area at Café Kandl - in Austria these are known as

Schanigarten

- is a real jewel. The urban atmosphere, the shelter of the courtyard, large ancient trees, and to finish it off: a minimalist wooden deck and simple galvanized-steel furniture - roll on summer!

The roof of the garden house

was painted pale pink, an echo of the blossoms of the courtyard’s large cherry tree. The color also harmonizes beautifully with autumn’s yellow foliage.