Coffee Restaraunt, Balance

ABOUT “BALANCE” – COFFEE –RESTAURANT

When I was asked to design the Balance coffee-restaurant, which is part of a small commercial center and located at its entrance, I had to come up with a design concept that had to take into account several important factors:

1. The restaurant’s location – its location at the entrance of a commercial center, at the same level as the health club, required finding a design relation with it.
2. The target audience- the health club’s members and visitors, passersby of the neighborhood and visitors to the commercial center, consisting mainly of commercial offices. The coffee-restaurant is actually the attraction point and the visiting card of the commercial center.
3. A small space – the surface I had to design has 45 m2, and it had to contain the kitchen, the bar, and the lavatories.

What actually guided me was a feeling of dynamics – and how such feeling can be translated into a design language. By creating a dialogue between the inside and the outside, the color choice, the choice of furniture and the transparency between what is taking place at the work area (kitchen and bar-serving counter), and the exterior – the sitting area, I wanted to create a sense of constant fluidity and renewal.

I used an element of black and white color game, using materials such as: glass – strengthening the feeling of transparency. In addition, a black steel frame construction for the glass partition between the kitchen area and the sitting area enhances the transparency element. I used light elements specially designed by my instructions (made by: Dori Kimichi Architectural Lighting) that give the working area (kitchen and bar), more emphasis – like on a theater stage.

I have also used decorative handmade concrete tiles on the main column, and tiles with a black and white design on the floor, in the 80ies style, laid out in a modern way. They create a borderline that surrounds the entire restaurant area. All this is completed by a three-dimensional design of a wallpaper at the inside wall of the bar area, giving the place depth.

BALANCE Coffee-Restaurant Branding

One of the factors I had to take into account in designing the Balance coffee-restaurant was planning the design as part of a future coffee-restaurant chain. It required consulting with other professionals.

Brain-storming sessions with the graphic designer, the culinary team, and our PR person, lead me to reach a clear design line, with additional elements that enhance its branding. The uniform of the kitchen, waiters and other staff members, the menu and Balance’s logo (including its positioning), are a complementary element to the place branding. It corresponds to the interior design, and as a result, gives a clear branding image like similar coffee –restaurant chains abroad.