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A Quiet Architecture for a Loud World
Kaffeewerk isn’t just a coffee shop—it’s an architectural pause.
Set in Berlin’s TechnoCampus in Siemensstadt, the café offers a counterpoint to the sterile, high-speed rhythm of its office campus surroundings. The goal wasn’t to create a spectacle. It was to design silence.
This is a space where materials do the talking. Where contrast is the structure. Where every guest—whether staying for 10 minutes or two hours—can find their own scale of stillness.
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Core Concept: Material Contrast as Mood Design
At the heart of Kaffeewerk stands a monolithic terrazzo block, anchoring the space with mass and calm. Its smooth surface is punctuated with stainless steel inserts—cuts that reveal a metallic interior, as if the entire bar were carved from industrial ore. This cold core is softened by a warm shell: terracotta-tiled partitions that flow seamlessly into the floor, wrapping the café in earthy texture and tonal stillness.
Above, an acoustic plaster ceiling dampens sound and diffuses light. Below, plants emerge from steel walls, adding an organic pulse to the industrial contrast. Nothing is decorative. Everything is placed with purpose.
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Design Tactics
• Zoned Calm: Freestanding walls divide the café into corridors and alcoves, allowing guests to find privacy even in public
• Material Contrast: Stainless steel vs terracotta; terrazzo vs acoustic plaster; oak and walnut vs concrete
• Visual Quiet: No decoration, no painted surfaces—just real materials left to speak in their native texture
• Hidden Functionality: Ceiling lighting is invisible when off; the counter is tucked away from most seating zones to minimize sensory clutter
• Multi-Modal Seating: Window counters for individuals, high tables for pairs, recessed benches and lounges for longer stays
This is a space without noise. It absorbs the world, instead of reacting to it.
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Feeling > Style
There’s no “theme.” No invented story. The project doesn’t need one. Its strength is in being. In letting the materials, light, and layout speak clearly and quietly. Guests don’t perform here—they arrive, sit, and exhale.
“The most reflective surfaces are also the coldest ones.
But they’re necessary—because contrast is what gives warmth its meaning.”
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PHOTOS - COZY STUDIO