Ukrainian practice YOD design has recently completed this modern restaurant of Uzbek cuisine in a stand-alone building in one of the central streets in Kharkiv. The building was erected in 2002 by the Ukrainian architect Oleg Drozdov for a restaurant that used to be located there before. It was important for the studio to fit a new venue into the structure to show its peculiar charm and emphasize the architecture that remains up-to-date because of its thoughtful proportions.
The design of NON restaurant represents eastern openness and hospitality. A bar counter became the central element of the main hall. A spectacular installation is placed above it and visually separates the counter zone inside the main space. Wooden tabletops, bouquets of pampas grass in picturesque vases, and warm shades of withered grass you can recognize in the stone that cover walls shape the atmosphere of the venue. There is plenty of natural light that comes inside the hall through the glass facade of the building.
The key accents of the restaurant are custom-designed lamps. “We had analyzed how we could reflect the Uzbek traditions in the interior,” explains the studio. “Eventually, we found an idea of the cotton flower.” According to historical sources, cotton had been planted in Central Asia two thousand years B.C. It still remains the most important industrial plant in Uzbekistan. “We put cotton flowers into glass bulbs and gave a cozy scattered light through them,” continues YOD design. Every bulb has its unique shape as a handicraft.
