cicero café by ALTS design office brings the outdoors in

located in a japanese neighborhood, cicero is a charming little café developed by ALTS design office. the project was part of a renovation plan to transform an old premise that once served as a restaurant. while the existing facilities have a good horizontal extension, there was still a feeling of being oppressed when one walked into the premise. therefore, the studio decided to increase the sense of openness by introducing some external elements into the design.

cicero café overview – indoor plants and warm lighting give a certain lightness to the space

in the proposed cicero café plan, ALTS design office offers spaces that give the feeling of being either indoors or outdoors. this impression is created only by means of installing iron frames that divide the café without disturbing the overall environment. for example, the ‘outdoor’ section is designed with iron frames that mimic wooden birdcages — giving the impression of being outside of the building.

the bar, common table, and ‘birdcage’ sofa corner

this particular concept was borrowed from ‘torii’ — a traditional gateway at the entrance of a japanese shinto shrine that evokes the transitions from outdoors to indoors or from one world to another, usually more sacred. following that idea, ‘meaningful atmospheres are given to each counter seats corners, sofa seats, and table-and-chair areas’ explains ALTS design office

the iron frames are crafted as birdcages with furniture that evoke the outdoors

simple choice of materials and interior design — one language highlighted by the use of iron frames

indoor/ outdoors impressions

night view of the cicero café entrance facade

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.