Inside An Emerald World created by Studio Renesa

A functionally designed space that welcomes the visitor to engage with the play of materials, Amritsar’s Elgin Cafe is defined by a nature-inspired design dipped in emerald hues

A cool bistro by day and a hip bar by night, the design for The Elgin Cafe restaurant and bar leans on the maximalist side, with a clean soft space and an inviting colour palette. The idea was to create an atmosphere and feel of the outdoors, where you would find yourself surrounded by greenery, natural wood, food spots and conversations. The architects sought to engage in a design that would create an international hospitality experience, while consequently appealing to the social media savvy clientele who enjoy the cafe culture.

The design process began by an understanding of the functional demands coupled with a modern and refreshing interpretation defined by design, materiality and brand. Once inside, customers are invited to engage with the play of materials and the spaces they form in the cafe. One part constitutes the cafe area that has more of a day dining aesthetic, while separating the private dining room through sliding folding shutters. Layers and design features encourage customers to explore the space. A small entrance leads to the winery with wine bottles integrated into shelving alongside the long fluted bar. Amidst the wine bar, a community table is clad in green stone and accompanied by high chairs.

Approaching the design through locally sourced materials, the entire space reflects Udaipur green stone with fluted members. One can spot nuances of Madagascar green and pale green with contrasting salmon colour seating that adds a not so subtle quirk to the scheme. The furniture and pendant lights were coordinated to reflect natural cane and fabric with dull gold accents in the form of traditional switch boards and wall lights. The ceiling forms the rest of the elemental nature of the restaurant through mouldings repeated in the entire span of the space. Maintaining the monochrome interior ensured the integrity of the space and reduced visual noise without shifting any highlighted details.

The theme, aesthetically curated with dark green and cane work accentuated with golden details and a concealed wine bar, is not only functionally designed but it also becomes a welcome card to the rest of the space.

Photos by Niveditaa Gupta

FACTFILE

Project: The Elgin Cafe, Amritsar, Punjab

Architects: Renesa Architecture Design Interiors Studio

Category: Restaurant and Bar Interiors (Hospitality)

Clients: Kavish Khurana, Shruti Khurana

Built Up Area: 1,500 sq ft

Design Team: Renesa Architecture Design Interiors, New Delhi, India

• Sanjay Arora – Founder Principal Architect
  • Sanchit Arora – Principal Architect & Concept Design Head
  • Vandana Arora – Interior Designer & Decor Head
  • Virender Singh – Studio Technical Head
• Jagdish Bangari – Architect / Graphics
• Anushka Arora – Architect / Text
  • Akarsh Varma – Architect
  • Aayush Misra – Architect
  • Tarun Tyagi – Architect
• Prityaanshi Agarwal – Architect
  • Janhvi Ambhurkar – Architect

Lighting: IndiHaus Lighting, Nikita Jain

Branding: Akshita Jain

Year of completion: 2020-2021