DATEL CAFÉ IN BUDWIES

The transformation of a Budweis café into a vibrant space that lives day and night. Features like a robust cascading counter and vaulted ceiling, combined with playful details create an atmosphere where coffee, bar culture and a sense of home converge.

Area 200 m²
Project year: 2016

Principal architect Zuzana & Jan Kurz in collab. with Ing. arch. Martin Rosa

Photo Jan Junek
Completion year: 2017

Area 200 m²
Project year: 2016
Principal architect Zuzana & Jan Kurz in collab. with Ing. arch. Martin Rosa
Photo Jan Junek
Completion year: 2017

They love coffee and were the key pillars of the entire design process – Zuzana and Jan, the owners of Datel Café in Budweis. With them, and only with them, the café stands or falls. Zuzana bakes beautiful breads and wonderful cakes, and together with Jan they keep everything perfectly balanced. They both have a great eye for detail and love well-designed spaces.

So we began to revive the already established 'Datel' – a somewhat cheeky bird everyone knows. During the day, Datel was meant to be a calm, cozy café; by night, a slightly wilder but still refined bar. The café boasts a distinctive and very high vaulted ceiling, which we wanted to preserve in its pure form. 

The most prominent and stable element that naturally draws attention is the cascading counter – the central meeting point for coffee, newspapers, cake and rum. Although the counter looks solid and robust, it doesn’t act as a barrier; rather, it creates a space for interaction. Along the perimeter walls runs a continuous bench that transforms into a soft couch with cushions. Shelves placed behind the counter visually enclose and embrace the entire space. The details that complete the atmosphere are slightly cheeky, maybe even intrusive, but add to the homely charm: flower pots, newspapers, dinosaurs, colorfull cushions, refurbished vintage chairs, and other small touches of this kind. Last but not least, in this nationally protected heritage building, we replaced the fixed glazing with openable windows, which are striking and highly practical elements of the café.

Materials 

Oak wood  •  Cement trowel  •  Paper

Materials

• Oak wood
• Cement trowel
• Paper

All work © KURZ architects