The new café of the National Fryderyk Chopin Institute in the kordegarde at 5 Krakowskie Przedmieście Street in Warsaw was inspired by Henryk Siemiradzki's painting "Chopin plays for the Radziwill family." References to the colors and patterns found on the canvas, captivate with their subtlety. The architects' concept harmonizes perfectly with the place where the café was created - it is also the ticket sales point of the National Fryderyk Chopin Institute.
Materials, patterns, colors - all this inspired the architects of the UGO Architecture studio to create the interior of a small cafe with a ticket sales point of the National Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw. In an area of 40 square meters, they managed to reflect the atmosphere of the Polish painter's 19th-century painting, while modernizing it and adapting it to the functional needs of the premises.
Careful selection of materials
The architects separated three zones, and the choice of materials for each emphasized this division. The first is the entrance area with an information desk and a counter for purchasing tickets. Here functionality plays a key role. The front of the counter is covered with terrazzo, whose austere character was broken with green plush upholstered seats and decorative steel elements.
The front of the counter is covered with terrazzo, the austere character of which was broken with green plush upholstered seats and decorative steel elements.
photo: ZUM Studio
The second zone is the cafe area, where there are tables for guests. Here the floor is covered with oak planks, which had a warming effect on the space. The wood creates a kind of frame around the stone mosaic - a floral "carpet" referring to the one in Henryk Siemiradzki's painting. The compound motif of semicircles that makes up the mosaic was also used in the steel sconces, the decorative neon lamp and the sliding door handle. The space is complemented by graphic portraits of Frederic Chopin by Sonia Dubois.
Between gold, green and red
The third zone is a technical area and back room, inaccessible to guests and customers of the café. The sumptuous red covering the walls and floor, however, tempts one to look there. Thanks to this color treatment, the room clearly stands out from the whole. The red tiles, sliding doors and furniture built-ins create a background and background for the interior, just as depicted in Siemiradzki's painting.
Red tiles, sliding doors and furniture built-ins create the background and background for the interior, just as depicted in Siemiradzki's painting
photo: ZUM Studio
The café in the cordegarden brings to mind a modernized reflection from the stamp of the painting titled: "Chopin plays for the Radziwill family " - inaccurate, but with a visible correspondence of colors and shapes. The color accents scrolling on the canvas were rendered in the interior of the premises - green, gold and red.
