Osmo X Marusan Café / MDT Mobilier

Osmo X Marusan Café / MDT Mobilier - Interior Photography, ChairOsmo X Marusan Café / MDT Mobilier - Interior Photography, Kitchen, CountertopOsmo X Marusan Café / MDT Mobilier - Interior Photography, Dining roomOsmo X Marusan Café / MDT Mobilier - Exterior Photography, Door, ChairOsmo X Marusan Café / MDT Mobilier - More Images+ 23

Montréal, Canada
  • Architects: MDT Mobilier
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  149
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2021
  • Photographs
    Photographs:Eliott Légaré
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  Belden, MDT Mobilier, Metal XP, Polyalto, Prismatic Powders
  • Design Team: Mathieu Domingue Trempe, Eliott Légaré
  • Clients & Owners: Hideyuki Imaizumi, David Schmidt
  • City: Montréal
  • Country: Canada
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Osmo X Marusan Café / MDT Mobilier - Interior Photography, Chair
© Eliott Légaré

Text description provided by the architects. MDT Mobilier, a well-known Montreal steel furniture design and production studio, is proud to unveil its concept for the new Osmo X Marusan café-terrace, formerly known as Café Osmo. Owners Hideyuki Imaizumi and David Schmidt wanted to change the venue’s vocation and transform the café into a hybrid collective space that serves as a café, bar, boutique, and event space.

Osmo X Marusan Café / MDT Mobilier - Interior Photography, Dining room
© Eliott Légaré
Osmo X Marusan Café / MDT Mobilier - Interior Photography, Chair
© Eliott Légaré

Inspired by the space’s brutalist style and historical details, the team wanted to preserve its unique character while playing up the style to make it even more iconic. With the direction set, the interior design and furniture were made entirely to order. Long, galvanized-steel communal tables at the center of the space create the desired unifying tone. Running along the angular walls, a brick bench echoes the exposed foundation of the adjacent bicentennial building. The result is a versatile, sober space that adapts to the multiple dimensions of the company.

Osmo X Marusan Café / MDT Mobilier - Interior Photography
© Eliott Légaré
Osmo X Marusan Café / MDT Mobilier - Interior Photography
© Eliott Légaré

The materials—galvanized steel, brick, and polycarbonate—were chosen for their suitability in a streamlined production process, involving little manipulation, in order to respect both the limited budget and the minimalist spirit inherent to the modernist style. Once assembled, these three materials do not require a finishing or protective layer and can be used as-is.

Osmo X Marusan Café / MDT Mobilier - Exterior Photography, Door, Chair
© Eliott Légaré

The reflective quality of galvanized steel, used for most surfaces, tables, counters, and fixtures, brings the space to life throughout the day and from season to season. Over time this raw, responsive material will change under the surrounding environment and develop a patina to give it a slightly more matte look. The chairs, which were custom-designed for the space, are finished in a sandstone red powder coat to create a link to the bricks in the foundation and bench.

Osmo X Marusan Café / MDT Mobilier - Interior Photography, Kitchen
© Eliott Légaré

The existing base of the service counter, which was retained to avoid wasting material, is overlaid with polycarbonate and dimmable LED strips. In order to imbue the semi-basement café with a sense of grandeur, the ambiance and furniture were designed to keep the focal point low, leaving the large concrete ceiling, with its three skylights, unobstructed. The new design of the communal space emphasizes the uniqueness of the Osmo X Marusan experience, both through the bespoke furniture and use of raw, adapted materials, which pair harmoniously with the existing architecture.

Osmo X Marusan Café / MDT Mobilier - Exterior Photography, Brick
© Eliott Légaré

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Project location

Address:51 Rue Sherbrooke O, Montréal, QC H2X 1X2, Canada

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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: "Osmo X Marusan Café / MDT Mobilier" 19 Mar 2022. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/978750/osmo-x-marusan-cafe-mdt-mobilier> ISSN 0719-8884

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