Project Overview

A 120 sqm café in Riyadh’s rapidly evolving hospitality scene, designed to feel like a deliberate pause in the city’s pace. The brief was to capture the warmth and texture of a traditional market without resorting to pastiche.

Design Approach

Arched niches along the back wall serve both as display shelving and as an acoustic buffer. Hand-stamped plaster panels were produced by a craftsperson from Jordan. The counter is clad in reclaimed timber from demolished buildings in the old city.

Atmosphere

The café operates morning to midnight, so the lighting design was critical — warm filament pendant clusters overhead, with directional spots picking out the material details at different times of day. The result shifts from airy and bright to intimate and glowing after dark.