Forget a clean slate—when NAAW Studio was commissioned to transform a Soviet-era workers’ housing block in Almaty into a Scandi-inspired café and bakery, they brought the 1953 building’s original ornamental features to the fore. The female-founded studio reckoned with the site’s Stalinist architectural heritage but added poise and whimsy to the mix, eschewing romanticism. Dilapidated plasterwork covered during a previous renovation was meticulously restored and contrasts the building’s stripped-back concrete skeleton, whose light gray hues also appear on terrazzo flooring. The muted palette provided wiggle room to bring in custom furnishings as well as pieces by Scandi brands &Tradition, Hay, and Normann Copenhagen with pops of bold royal blue and dark orange, colors that also line a vertigo-inducing bathroom corridor.
It all weaves a spatial tapestry thanks to Yourta’s hand-made cushions evoking traditional Kazakh yurts, cabinets made by local craftsmen using regionally sourced Karagach wood, and restored angular front windows outfitted with cozy nook seating that drench the dining room with sunlight. As diners enjoy their confections—the cafe’s name, Fika, refers to the Swedish tradition of taking a break to enjoy coffee and a pastry—they can also embark on an art history lesson of Kazakhstan’s largest city. The Almaty Museum donated original photographs of the building’s construction for the walls; NAAW painstakingly recreated a drawing of the building’s facade that was lost in the archives. The main focal point, though, is a dusky canvas by local painter Nurbol Nurakhmet that depicts an Almaty landmark under a moonlit sky.
