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¯I Site plan
Plan: IFUB* I¯

Café Kandl


Renovation and rebuild of a former Café into a contemporary coffee house and cocktail bar with terrace room.

Location: Kandlgasse 12, 1070 Wien, Österreich

Year: 2019

Team IFUB*: Bernhard Kurz, Johannes Krohne, Clemens Gritl, Georg Breitenhuber

In collaboration with:
Joana Mendo / Lighting design - www.joanamendo.com
MO architektur / Handling public authorities - www.mo-design.at
GG Static Engineers - www.gg-ingenieure.at
Atelier Liska Wesle / Logo, Graphics - www.atelierliskawesle.com

Client: Café Kandl Betriebs GmbH, www.cafekandl.at

In press: Falter 46/2019, da! Architektur Berlin| Building Berlin 02/2022, A Coffee A Day - Contemporary Café Design 04/2022
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¯I Outside the Café Kandl
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
At the end of 2018, on learning that the aging Café Kandl, an outdated restaurant with garden in Vienna’s 7th district, had been abandoned, our client instantly recognized its potential and seized the opportunity.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.
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¯I seating area before the rebuild
Foto: IFUB* I¯
The main seating area at Café Kandl

before the rebuild.

Much to do…
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¯I Bodenspiegel
Plan: IFUB* I¯

The atmospheric twist:

A more flexible way of transforming the space. Whoever is in the café at 15:30 can experience it firsthand—this is when the bright and friendly café-restaurant becomes a cool, sophisticated cocktail bar. The dark-red curtains behind the bar are drawn, closing the view to the kitchen and muting the noise. At the same time, the lights are dimmed and set to a color that invokes the evening atmosphere. Instead of fantastic food, there are now fantastic cocktails: The Café Kandl Twist—live and in color.
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¯I atmospheric change day and night
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯

The atmospheric twist.

A more flexible way of transforming the space. Whoever is in the café at 15:30 can experience it firsthand - this is when the bright and friendly café-restaurant becomes a cool, classy cocktail bar. The dark-red curtains behind the bar are drawn, closing the view to the kitchen and muting the noise. At the same time, the lights are dimmed and set to a color that invokes the evening atmosphere. Instead of fantastic food, there are now fantastic cocktails: The Café Kandl Twist - live and in color.
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¯I Main seating area
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
With its oak parquet floor and matching ash paneling and furniture,

the main seating area

is inspired by the classic coffee houses. The graphic patterns of the wood, in combination with the colored fabric of the curtains and upholstery, brings the necessary freshness to a well-established concept.
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¯I group table
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
The second part of the main seating area is dominated by a spacious

group table.

Here, larger parties or solo guests can equally find a place. The opposing mirrors of the bar and the wall create an infinite effect below the bar's upper edge.
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¯I Wardrobe and entrance
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯

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.
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¯I wood paneling with mirrors
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯

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.
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¯I Entrance WC
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
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.

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¯I color and material concept
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
The

color and material concept

of the main seating area is summed up at a glance. Warm colors for a cosy flair. Classically restrained and yet excitingly beautiful. Special attention was paid to durability, value, and feel, as well as the use of real materials. Sustainability also applies to interior design!
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¯I main seating area
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
For the

freestanding furniture,

oak-topped tables were custom made, with legs from ash and feet in galvanized steel. The stackable chairs - also in ash - were made by a Finnish manufacturer and fit perfectly into the overall design.
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¯I window shutters
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
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.
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¯I The Café at a glance
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯

the main seating area and the bar

at a glance. In the background is the passage to the kitchen, the door to the restrooms is on the left.
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¯I Transition seating area - Bar
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯

At the transition

between seating area and bar, the two different design worlds meet - and create unexpected visual effects.
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¯I Behind the bar
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
It’s all happening

behind the bar.

At the perimeter, the square pattern in the parquet transforms into a black and white concentric circles. The heavy red curtain not only serves for pleasant acoustics: together with the green marble it also creates the perfect stage for the renowned bartenders and their famous drinks. Gleaming stainless steel and sparkling galvanized steel complete the picture.
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¯I Bar area
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
The wonderful

green marble

from the Alps harmonizes magnificently with the red fabric of the curtains and the cocktail glasses placed in front.
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¯I bar at night
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯

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.
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¯I The Café by day
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯

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.
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¯I window to the kitchen
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
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.
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¯I The Kitchen
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
A look behind the scenes. If guests can see into

the kitchen,

it goes without saying that it must be more than just functional—it also has to be visually appealing. But the same goes for kitchen staff: it's easier to work well in beautiful spaces. That's why handmade square blue tiles edged in black complement the classic stainless-steel kitchen equipment.
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¯I Anteroom restrooms
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
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.
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¯I anteroom restrooms
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
When space is rare, a lot can be achieved with mirrors. Unfortunately, the three additional

WC cubicles

are only provided optically.
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¯I WC cubicle interior
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
Half black, half infinite. This is how

the WC-cubicle interiors

appear.
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¯I ceiling anteroom restrooms
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
Looking up, you can see that even a small café needs a large ventilation system. But if the system is staged correctly, a simple restroom can be transformed into an exciting

spaceship

interior.
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¯I view main entrance
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
Café Kandl has hardly changed

from the outside.

Although there are new windows and doors together with a new entrance sign, the basic color scheme of the building has been purposefully retained.
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¯I garden house after renovation
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
After its complete renovation,

the garden house

shines in a new light. The interior walls were taken out, the windows and facade renovated, a new door was put in, a heating system was installed, and the roof was insulated and newly clad. The new room, with its myriad possible uses, is an ideal addition to future cultural offerings at Café Kandl.
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¯I The "Schanigarten" before the rebuild
Foto: IFUB* I¯
The inner courtyard of Café Kandl

before the rebuild.

The client saw the potential not only of the overgrown outdoor space, but also the dilapidated outbuilding.
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¯I The "Schanigarten"
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
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!
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¯I The garden house from above
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯

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.
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¯I Detail Schanigarten
Foto: Sorin Morar I¯
The Schanigarten in detail. A cleanly-jointed

bench

made of larch protects the rootstock of the tree.
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¯I garden house interior
Foto: Andrea Peller I¯
In the freshly renovated

interior of the garden house

there is a multifunctional room which offers a variety of uses from private dinners to public exhibitions.
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¯I Floorplan before the rebuild
Plan: IFUB* I¯

Floorplan before the rebuild

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¯I Floorplan after the rebuild
Plan: IFUB* I¯

Floorplan after the rebuild

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¯I Section: Cafe
Plan: IFUB* I¯

Section: Cafe

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¯I Elevation: Kandlgasse
plan: IFUB* I¯

Elevation: Kandlgasse

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¯I Elevation Courtyard
Plan: IFUB* I¯

Elevation Courtyard