Sight: Meditative Coffee & Dining

Architects: Form Bureau (Olga Treivas, Vera Odyn, Polina Nenasheva, Idrees Suliman)

Year: 2018-19

Location: St. Petersburg, Russia

Sight. Coffee and Dine is a 150m2 restaurant located on Petrogradsky Island in St. Petersburg, Russia, in a renovated historic district.

The restaurant has two areas: the main area for customers, and the kitchen. In the front of the dining area, guests can enjoy a cup of coffee, have a snack, or work on their laptops. In the back of the dining area, space is reserved for those who want to sit longer and savor their meals. Part of the kitchen is visible so that the preparation and cooking of food can be observed.

The original concrete and brick walls of the building were preserved. Marble, metal, and semi-opaque plastic accents were added as finishes.

The color palette was carefully chosen to be more neutral in tone, and the space acts as a blending of the natural and man-made; live plants stretch upwards to the metal finishes and lamps which hang from the restaurant ceiling.

The pink marble bar counter and breccia floor provide colorful yet natural accents. Shimmering and semi-transparent surfaces create a pleasant feeling of weightlessness, making Sight. Coffee and Dine an ideal place for meditative dining.

Photography: Dmitriy Tsyrenshchikov