As in any major city, the hospitality scene in Moscow is continuously evolving, and it has done so at a faster pace than in most places across the planet. Following an era in which top range establishments made headlines, a new wave of more democratic hospitality concepts has engulfed the Russian capital which lure a demographic of young and savvy palates merge with good food and a modern lifestyle setting. In this category falls the newly opened SoupMaker café in the downtown Tverskaya neighbourhood. Founded by Viktor Illarianov and Nikita Smettanikov, the venue occupies a 170 sqm. (1,830 sq.ft.) on the ground floor unit of a former Soviet printing company which has now been transformed into a business centre. The owners tapped architects Evgeniy Shchetinkin and Leeza Semionova of local practice V12 Architects to design a matching setting for this elongated and lofty unit which features both a street side entrance and one which connects with the business centre. The space flaunts a neutral palette, and it’s the elongated bar – it extends into a communal table at one end – which instantly stands out.
Crafted from plywood, it has been given a traditional Japanese finish to make a bold statement, and comes with matching wall panels. The ceiling and utility pipes have been painted in a soft grey hue and is paired with walls covered in translucent lacquer and a floor coated with microcement. Mind you, the table tops have been made of the same material. Next to the aforementioned bar extension paired with benches, SoupMaker sees a playful variety of seating arrangements, including wall-mounted tables for two and communal tables for larger groups. In similar fashion, an eclectic range of chairs and stools have been picked. Although the floor-to-ceiling glass façade allows in plenty of daylight, lighting is an important element of the design and manifests in different forms, ranging from wall-mounted Erco lights and Zero pendant lamps, to chrome track lighting and Ingo Maurer‘s Campbell lights in the restroom. SoupMaker‘s menu is supervised by Denis Perezov, an acclaimed chef and culinary consultant, obviously lists a range of soup concoctions, but also full breakfast variations, salads, hot meals, and desserts.
SoupMaker
Krasnoproletarskaya ulitsa 16 (Tverskaya)
127473 Moscow
Telephone: +7 925 7687687
Mon-Fri 8am-10pm
Sat-Sun 9am-10pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
