The Cake Restaurant is a new dining space in Kiev, Ukraine which advocates a new fashion for Modern French Pastries unseen before. Designed by 2b.group, the space opened to the public in November 2014, after an incredibly short design period – four months, from initial design sketches to opening.
The architects spent longer disputing a description for the design than they worked on the project build! Eventually they settled on naming the design concept after the ‘Indie’ music genre.
Most of the designed elements in the space are unique, this was due to the majority of them being handcrafted especially for the space, including the contribution of the puzzled surface of the mottled brown and white floor.
This is covered in 10 000 hand crafted hexagonal concrete tiles, each with their own imperfections. Behind the transparent walls of cafeteria displays are piles of cakes, contrasting with the hexagonal and other geometric patterns throughout.
The main space of 80m square has a diverse range of furniture separated into two distinct dining areas. At two different heights, each have their own colour palette and materials.
The taller seating area is marked with rustic wood surfaces on the tables, bar and seats with felt-covered bar stools.
These are nestled beside the lower seating area where bottle green velvet fabric mixes with warm shades of grey. Cosy green couches, and Vibia frame lighting fixtures create a relaxed, colour-muted background.
On this pale, neutral background an extreme contrast is formed by the bright pink imitation Koon dog, ‘only looks like a Koons dog – but it is not’. This glossy sculpture in the centre of the space acts like a freshly glazed cake on a white plate.
This contrast is also demonstrated in the very unusual look of the toilets: mono-coloured in pink, green, yellow and purple polka dots, making this a simple yet effective design solution.
Across the frontage are large, floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing sunlight to “walk through” and fill the space, right to the glass walls opposite, creating a contrast on the beautifully carved, wooden bar panels en route.
The bar area is a narrower space, with the wooden and felt covered bar stools creating a social dining experience. White fold out tables along the length of wall opposite and white spindle stools are accented by tall black sconce lights, complementing the wire-flow fixtures in other sections of the space.
This little chef d’oeuvre for 2b.group, according to them, is: “one of the biggest achievements of 2b.group in 2014,” as it’s their first restaurant project.
Images © Andrey Bezuglov, Slava Balbek
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