BARABAN

Baraban is located in the central point of Wilanów district in Warsaw, on the ground floor of a characteristic building opening onto one of the squares and a park. Previously, a restaurant was located in the same place, which did not survive the period of COVID and the pandemic. Our task was to create a concept that would fit into the existing space but would not refer to the previous tenant. The designed restaurant was suppose to bring a new quality and form that would not be assosciated with the previous concept.
The venue had a strongly elongated shape, with a bar, an open kitchen, and the back room of the previous restaurant incorporated into it. Due to the costs of potential functional layout changes, a decision was made to make maximum use of the existing layout and propose a new arrangement in relation to it. The existing floor and some of the wall cladding were also suitable for reuse. However, this had to be done carefully so that the venue was not perceived as a continuation of the previous concept. Additionally, the investors were very keen to complete the entire design work in a short time, which imposed a very dynamic pace of work.
Baraban was created out of a passion and love for Balkan cuisine, flavors, and scents. In one of the local languages, the name of the restaurant means “drum”. There are more references to the culture of this region throughout the interior. This is primarily a red, orange-brown color scheme. Irregular, as if hand-made tiles, wooden partitions, all of these elements refer to local venues with an unpretentious atmosphere created with local residents in mind.
The seemingly unarranged interior layout was successfully turned into an advantage. In its space, there is a clear division into several smaller zones, which create intimate corners conducive to meetings and longer stays. Most chairs and sofas have soft upholstery. Only the yellow chairs, chosen to enliven the subdued earthy color scheme, have a harder seat.
The above-described elongated shape also forced the individual development of a series of details. One of them is a characteristic high table standing vis-à-vis the open kitchen. Covered with brass sheet, it narrows in one direction to allow for easy passage. Sitting at it provides the best view of the magic happening in the kitchen.