Cafe
architect. Arseniusz Romanowicz i Piotr Szymaniak
finished. 1963
This coffee shop/bar used to house ticket offices for the Powisle railway station (suburban railway). Now it's been 'restored to it former glory'? I doubt that the ticket office was ever glorious, originally built in the 60's (1954-63), along with several other lovely stations of the line (Ochota, ...) it was certainly sculptural and modernist ... but glorious might be pushing it. This was post-Stalin communism, socialist-realism was out the door, they were no longer finishing with marble. However the materials are very solid, the floor is a nicely cut granite and mosaic tiles cover the columns. In 2009 the building underwent a minimalist renovation by a young architecture firm, Centrala. I really appreciate their light (budget-friendly?) touch. The volume of the roof is amazing, particularly lit up at night. The interior is spartan and it's nice to see some non-ikea furniture, i believe some young local furniture designers were involved. Overall the openness of the space has been maintained. Due to the hight it feels larger than it is and there's something still left in the air of the bustle that was once the essence of this place.
A detail not to miss: the menu options are also retro, written in red and blue marker on A4 paper taped to the wall!
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