Café Kontejner / Collarch

Café Kontejner / Collarch - Exterior Photography, FacadeCafé Kontejner / Collarch - Exterior PhotographyCafé Kontejner / Collarch - Interior Photography, Dining room, Table, ChairCafé Kontejner / Collarch - Interior PhotographyCafé Kontejner / Collarch - More Images+ 26

  • Architects: Collarch
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  90
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2021
  • Photographs
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  Egoe-Life
  • Lead Architects: Ondřej Janků, Shota Tsikoliya
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Café Kontejner / Collarch - Exterior Photography
© Peter Fabo

Text description provided by the architects. In the heart of Prague 7 - Holešovice, a temporary building from recycled shipping containers grew on Orten Square. With its rough industrial aesthetics, it refers to the industrial history of Holešovice. Its content follows the current changes in this city district: The rough, black shell hides a pleasant city café which opens up to its surroundings with large-scale glazing in the facade of the aged and used containers.

Café Kontejner / Collarch - Exterior Photography, Chair
© Karolína Matušková
Café Kontejner / Collarch - Chair
© Karolína Matušková

The building consists of three shipping containers. Two, forming the base of the café, are located parallel to the main street. However, they open their facade towards the park. The mass of both containers is an optical and sound curtain for quiet sitting in the park zone. The third container is an observatory on the upper floor of the café. To observe and to be observed. The landmark on the square is placed obliquely, seemingly randomly, on the other two containers. However, this is a thoughtful move. The rotation creates two terraces with a view of the surroundings and the mass of the container becomes a clear element visible from the main access axes.

Café Kontejner / Collarch - Interior Photography, Chair
© Karolína Matušková

The use of a sober color palette and basic industrial materials is accentuated in the interior by a precisely processed, atypical detail. Visitors find themselves at the intersection of two realities: a rough industrial product and a boutique-café. This is also how we perceive the current spirit of Holešovice. Its essence is personified by our structure: like the romanticized industrial heritage of Holešovice, it stands on the border of rejection (older generation) and embracement (younger generation). 

Café Kontejner / Collarch - Interior Photography, Dining room, Table, Chair
© Peter Fabo
Café Kontejner / Collarch - Interior Photography
© Peter Fabo

The absence of rich, contrasting colors in the interior makes the shades of gray and silver stand out. The textures of the hard surfaces are complemented by the fine fabric of the curtains colored only by the sun and park greenery, entering the interior through large-scale glazing. Sitting with a coffee becomes a dreamy, surreal experience detached from the hustle and bustle of the surrounding streets.

Café Kontejner / Collarch - Interior Photography
© Peter Fabo
Café Kontejner / Collarch - Image 29 of 31
2nd Floor Plan
Café Kontejner / Collarch - Image 24 of 31
© Peter Fabo

The corrugated steel used in the interior as a wall cladding wittily corresponds to the window curtains. It forms a second curtain hiding the back-of-house, toilets, and technical room. It guides the visitor through the ground floor layout and clearly marks the mass of the staircase.

Café Kontejner / Collarch - Interior Photography
Courtesy of Collarch

The cafe is designed for year-round operation and equipped with all the necessary technology, from underfloor heating to a powerful air conditioning unit. Forced air exchange is solved visibly in the form of spiro-pipes, which form a significant design element in the interior and complete its industrial aesthetics. Most of the built-in electrical installations are controlled from a single central panel with switches in the form of a simple, elegant matt-black steel plate, inserted into a galvanized corrugated steel wall.

Café Kontejner / Collarch - Exterior Photography
© Peter Fabo

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Project location

Address:Prague, Czech Republic

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "Café Kontejner / Collarch" 09 Nov 2021. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/971604/cafe-kontejner-collarch> ISSN 0719-8884

© Peter Fabo

箱子咖啡厅 / Collarch

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