Kavaklıdere Café

01 Idea

A corner shop where two streets meet in Kavaklıdere: windows run along both facades and take light from different directions through the day. The client wanted a place that begins with morning coffee and ends with evening reading. Our idea is to divide the room according to the journey of the light: the east corner, where morning sun enters, for quick coffee and a standing counter; the west corner, lit in the afternoon, for long sitting and a library. The same space shows a different face across the day.

02 Space

At the centre of the 190-square-metre room, a 9-metre bar counter separates and joins the two zones. The back of the counter continues as a bookcase; books begin right behind the coffee machine. Fixed bench seating runs along the windows, with movable tables in the middle. At the back, a small reading room can be closed off with a curtain; it will host talks and reading groups in the evenings. Service and storage connect to the rear yard.

03 Material and construction

The fit-out is in its final weeks: services, flooring and plaster are complete, and fixed joinery is being installed. The bar counter has a terrazzo body with brass kick plates; the bookcase and benches are solid oak. Walls are sand-coloured lime plaster, while the old building’s jack-arch ceiling, uncovered during works, was cleaned and left exposed. Bench cushions are dark burgundy wool; for acoustics, concealed absorbers sit behind the bookcase and between the ceiling arches.

04 Light

In a dual-aspect corner shop, managing light matters more than adding it. We designed thin linen curtains for the east windows to soften the morning sun, and a low awning on the west side that admits the warm late-afternoon light. Above the bar, warm task lighting renders the colour of the coffee accurately; in the library area every table has a reading lamp. At night the café will glow towards the street with low, warm light.