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The famous pastry shop chain in Cyprus “New York Sweets” has decided to go through a radical rebranding.
The architecture studio Minas Kosmidis was called to design the new space that should worthily represent the philosophy of “New York Sweets” and its family tradition and character while at the same time redefining their aesthetic identity and resolving in the best way their new operating requirements.
The space is located in one of the most the main streets of Nicosia, which is characterized by heavy traffic and great transit of vehicles. The store is in the ground floor and its floor plan is rectangular, having two its angular sides open towards outside. On the first floor, above the pastry shop, there is a storage space for raw materials, while a small part of the ground floor has been given to the preparation department and also houses the staircase which connects the two levels.
The greater part of the ground floor has been dedicated to the display of the products. For the new concept, the architects where asked to include in their designs a corner for the preparation of hot beverages. The new pastry shop should include the necessary spaces for displaying and selling sweet and salty pastries, a small coffee shop as well as a semi private meeting room. Regarding the aesthetic identity of the pastry shop, the name “New York Sweets” has contributed significantly as an inspiration durin the design process.
The strict orthogonal grid of Manhattan has been set as the design module for the organization of the diverse volumes of fridges/displays and counters inside the shop, as well as for the building’s façade, where horizontal and vertical metallic tubes create a grid, dividing in this way the ceramic tiles of the wall covering. Furthermore, for the shading and lighting of the shops facades, the architects designed three metallic horizontal canopies, with reference to the canopies in front of the entrances of historical buildings of New York.
The corridors between the volumes of the display fridges give even greater emphasis to the idea of a tight urban grid. As a result, entering the shop, first there is a central freestanding refrigerator which displays the cakes and chocolate bites, while around it are developed all the other volumes of refrigerators and diverse functions. The payment counter is a rectangular volume covered by walnut wood veneer interrupted by a small glass volume, eccentrically placed, to display the special pastry of the day.
The volume which incorporates the freezers constitutes a continuation of the payment counter in a game of full and empty volumes, and serves as a background for the café area. One of the elements that someone notices instantly entering the shop is the composition on the wall, behind the long refrigerator, of the skyline of Manhattan created by different types of marble. At the end of the same wall, there is the meeting room, which is divided by the rest of the space as a box in a box, inside which, are displayed in frames the available cakes and pastries as paintings in an art gallery.
In the middle of the room, a central table can accommodate up to 4 persons and above the table two pendants with the shape of cakes light the room. The entrance of the room is highlighted by two metallic structures of shelves, designed in order to display bottles of rare wines, champagne and other luxurious products. The inspiration behind their design, the architect said, that was found in the minimal repetitive lines of Aldo Rossi’s buildings. The central column as well as the beams of the building’s structure have been let naked both as structural elements and also regarding their texture, while at the same time have been painted in a pale pink color, which combined with their texture reminds of smeared whipped cream.
Regarding the materials that have been used, the flooring and most part of the walls have been covered by mosaic tiles in pale colors of beige, bordeaux and brown, creating this way a neutral background, which allows at the black-grey volumes of the refrigerators to stand out while at the same time compose harmonically the color palette of the pastry shop, in combination with the walnut wood veneers, the metallic pink elements and the different types of marble.
Design Minas Kosmidis Architecture In Concept
Location Nicosia, Cyprus
Area 120 sqm
Lighting Design Minas Kosmidis Architecture In Concept
Graphic Design Minas Kosmidis Architecture In Concept
Photos courtesy Studiovd N.Vavdinoudis – Ch.Dimitriou
MINAS KOSMIDIS
Architect Minas Kosmidis, graduated from the School of Architecture of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In 1991 he completed his postgraduate studies in industrial and furniture design in the École d’Architecture de Paris-Conflans, having won a state scholarship. In 1993, he establishes his first architecture studio in his hometown, Komotini. The studio Minas Kosmidis-Architecture in Concept, is actually the evolution of the architect’s personal studio.
The studio is now active all around Greece and abroad, in countries such as Cyprus, Egypt, Ukraine, and China, undertaking architecture and interior design projects. During the last years the studio has created a broad and diversified portfolio in the fields of private housing, hospitality, retail, and more importantly in the sector of food service and entertainment. Many of the studio’s projects have been featured in renowned Greek and international magazines and leading websites.
by AN shopfitting magazine no.141 ©
