COCOCO bistro | DA bureau

COCOCO Bistro is a new daily project from Matilda Shnurova, famous Saint Petersburg
caterer.
The project’s location determined the course and style of the interior. The bistro is located
in one of the buildings of renovated historical territory on New Holland Island in downtown
Saint Petersburg.
The former warehouse building constructed in 1849 with high ceilings and historical brick
has its large windows facing the Admiralteisky Channel Embankment which makes the space
brightly illuminated and open.
First off, the agency was presented with the challenge to design a cozy, beautiful interior
environment which would meet the concept of the establishment as well as to preserve the
vibe and the spirit of the location. When coming to the bistro, the customer should feel a
homey immersive atmosphere reminding them of a living room in a Saint Petersburg
intellectuals’ apartment from the days of old.
Our goal was to create such a space which would not have a single alien element that might
undermine the feeling of unity and authenticity of the place. For this reason, all objects in
the interior environment were selected with special care and each of them has its own
history.
The conceptual solution came virtually at once. However, the implementation required
considerable effort. The main challenge was that the project was an experiment of sorts to
the agency: the work in an unusual style always requires particular attention and makes it
necessary to think over all solutions in more detail. Even it might seem to be accidental at
first glance, each interior element went through a many-stage selection system.
In the end, despite all fears, with all elements combined, it proved to be much better than
we could have ever imagined.
Some interesting facts which give this project a noble touch of the old times.