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Aloha, Berlin.
MALOA wasn’t a restaurant when it began.
It was a story. A memory. A dream dragged back from Hawaii by a young founder who had no hospitality experience—just a deep need to recreate a feeling. He came to me not with a brand, but with impressions: the sea, the sand, the driftwood, the people, the joy.
This wasn’t a project. It was an act of translation: How do you turn nostalgia into architecture? How do you build a space that tells a full story—from first step to final spoon?
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Concept: From Ocean to Jungle
The design flows like a Hawaiian landscape:
• The concrete floor mimics wet sand, subtly pigmented to suggest the transition from ocean to shore.
• Plant-covered metal structures frame the room like a loose jungle canopy—above, beside, and behind the guest.
• Swing seats in the windows suggest island ease.
• Natural textures dominate: rope, palm, weathered wood, and hand-built elements that feel improvised and joyful.
There’s no minimalism here. No cold precision. Just playful immersion.
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Design Tactics
• Narrative Zoning: Each material and layer references a moment—leaving water, stepping on sand, entering green
• Repeatable Brand System: A custom photo-collage wall mixes Hawaiian symbols, colors, and textures—serving as a future template for chain expansion
• Lo-fi Atmosphere: The space feels unpretentious and lived-in, designed to support casual energy, not curated performance
• Layered Textures: Nothing sterile—everything tactile. Raw finishes. Natural wear. Visual rhythm without rigidity.
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Feeling: Lightness, Ease, Joy
This space isn’t meant to be “visited.” It’s meant to be entered and forgotten—not because it’s forgettable, but because it absorbs you. Guests feel playful, loose, relaxed. It’s not designed to impress. It’s designed to disarm.
“You walk off the ocean, through the trees, and straight into something delicious.”
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PHOTOS - DONE STUDIO