"Городское кафе 317" в Москве Vladimir Arzamastsev, Максим Ширнин, Мария Михайлова

Passing the gallery

A photo: Evgeny Luchin

Leading headings: Nina Farizova

Idea: Vladimir Arzamastsev

Architect: Maria Mikhailova, Maxim Shirnin

Woodwork: Ilya Dochkin

Magazine: N10 (99) 2005

The question of why some cafes and restaurants are empty, while others need to pre-book tables, is by no means rhetorical. Any space should be divided according to the principle of consumer preferences: “open-closed”, “wide-narrow”, “dark-light”. And then the choice is yours. The new “City Cafe 317” (Moscow, Gluboky Lane, 1/2) is one of those where it is difficult to find a free table at any time of the day. The secret of success is simple: there is no intention and aggression. Here everything unnecessary has been removed, the forms are reduced to architectural archetypes, and geometry - to linearity. Ventilation ventilates, lighting demarcates the seats, two balconies and a podium “lift” you above all those sitting below. Most likely, deliberate departure from the decor becomes a new principle of creating an interior. Everything is very respectable, but not bourgeois.