ZENTRAL - Cafè & Restaurant | Messner Architects

Through the reconstruction and redesign of the aging premises there was a welcoming and functional café and restaurant created. In order to bring more daylight to the inside, the existing arched windows at the west and south facade were expanded to the floor. This way these facades create continuum of the arches on the north side of the building. The arches on the west side facing the street increase visibility between public space and bar, which has an inviting and exhilarant effect on the public life in the village. The generous windows with the basket-awning at the south side expand the restaurant area by a sunny garden, which is now accessible through wooden doors that are integrated in the arches.

The entrance area leads first to the bar area. A ceiling element serving as luminaire and bass absorber marks the center of the café. By the arches, comfortable sitting arrangements overview the passing street life. The boundaries between outside and inside become blurred.

The freestanding central wall builds the heart piece. It both connects and separates. Lookthroughs let the happening perceive directly or only assumptive. All the operational ways that connect bar, kitchen, restaurant and guest garden cross at this point. Gneissic rock, nut wood and oak as well as dark furniture fronts determine the pleasant atmosphere inside.
Along the arched facade emerges a wood ceiling, which connects the bar with the restaurant. The dark furniture in the south area floats above the wooden floor and with its inner warmth it invites to linger. Drafted and fabricated by the designer Antoinette Bader the lamps immerse the premises in an impressive ambiance. In the restaurant area, the positions of the light spots can vary through the rails in the ceiling.

The few architectural elements in Zentral enable a free usage of the Ambienti. The spaces and atmospheres engage fluently into each other.