BAR & RESTAURANT APERITIVO | COMMERCIAL
Eklego Design
BRIEF
Hedayat and her team at Eklego Design worked closely with the owners of La Bodega’s new restaurant Aperitivo, to create a space that revives the glamorous era of 1930’s Cairo. The challenge was to bring the concept to life through the design in a way that highlights the opulence and style of that period, while making it a contemporary space that is timeless.
The design emphasises the rich art deco architecture of the Baehler Building, built in 1929.  Floor to ceiling dark walnut cabinetry lines the walls while opulent crystal chandeliers (sourced by the client) were hung in clusters emphasising the magnificent high ceilings of the space. Continue reading

LEFT BANK | COMMERCIAL

Eklego Design
BRIEF
Left Bank was an empty space that was built from the ground up. Hedayat and her team came up with the architecture, concept, finishing and furnishing.
Left Bank was conceived as a Nile-side café/bistro/ patisserie inspired by downtown cultural salons, and the objective of the design was to capture the Egyptian zeitgeist and translate it in both form and function to create a venue for Nile-side dialogue and the free exchange of ideas.
The design of the space was based on the three main physical aspects that define the heart of Downtown Cairo (namely Tahrir Square); open space, a central locus, and vertical boundaries. The floor was composed of cobbled stone representing the map of downtown Cairo while the shelving lining the walls was inspired by the buildings dotting the horizon of the area around Tahrir square.
Folding glass doors were used to allow an unobstructed view of the Nile from the restaurant and to emphasise a strong indoor outdoor connection. Continue reading