Overview of the Oltyně Roastery interior with rotated concrete lost-formwork blocks as a room divider, wooden product shelving and exposed ventilation ducts overhead

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OLTYNĚ Coffee Roastery

At a roundabout in Oltyně, a café was created that doesn’t look like a typical café. Don’t expect a cute interior filled with decorative objects on shelves. The client approached us with a space in an unfinished shell of what was originally intended to be a family house or cottage. Situations like this are exactly what we are interested in – when a building no longer makes sense in its original purpose, but holds strong potential for a completely new use.

Instead of covering everything up and forcing a polished, decorative interior, we chose the opposite approach. To work with what was already there and build an interior that is financially efficient, yet strong, distinctive, and memorable. The atmosphere is not created by decoration. It comes from structure, light, and exposed materials.

Café corner at the Oltyně Roastery with a window view to greenery, exposed concrete block walls, dark metal tables, rebar divider and plant in the foreground

Rough walls as a finished surface

The fundamental decision was to let the structural framework speak for itself as much as possible. The partitions and ceilings were left unplastered, showing traces of the brickwork and the exposed texture of the material. We didn’t want to create the effect of a space under construction, but rather a fully-fledged finished interior. That’s why we unified all these structures with a single coat of paint. Thanks to this, the roughness and plasticity remained in the space, but the feeling of incompleteness disappeared. What would be hidden elsewhere has become the main quality here.

Overview of the Oltyně Roastery shop with product display table, wooden shelving, concrete block bar on the left and large window views to the surroundings

Café seating space of the Oltyně Roastery with two windows overlooking greenery, exposed concrete block walls, dark tables and metal pendant lights

Shop area of the Oltyně Roastery with exposed concrete blocks, wooden product shelving and bare ceilings with exposed building services

Bar counter of the Oltyně Roastery with pastry display case, wooden shelving with coffee products, neon tube lighting and exposed black steel beams

Permanent formwork as structure and pattern

We used concrete blocks for permanent formwork as one of the main motifs of the entire interior. By rotating them ninety degrees, we created an open, perforated structure that functions as a dividing element, a filter, and a spatial decoration. Light passes through it, keeping the space connected while gently dividing it. We finished the edges with a metal trim that refines the rough material. We applied the same principle to the bar, so this is not a standalone detail but a system that holds the entire interior together.

Exposed lost-formwork concrete blocks as bar counter and dividing elements at the Oltyně Roastery, neon tube lighting, exposed steel columns and beams

View from the café area through the perforated rotated concrete block divider toward the product shelving in the Oltyně Roastery shop, exposed ventilation duct above

Macro shot of the raw concrete block surface in sharp natural light at the Oltyně Roastery — the surface and texture of the raw building material

Full view of the Oltyně Roastery café with bar counter, display case, rebar shelving, green seating, grey tables and exposed concrete block walls throughout

Macro detail of the corner edge finish of a concrete block with steel sheet trim at the Oltyně Roastery — the precise transition between raw concrete and smooth matte steel sheet

View along the product shelving corridor toward the perforated rotated concrete block divider in the Oltyně Roastery, red roasting machine visible in the background

Production zone of the Oltyně Roastery with the red roasting machine behind the perforated concrete block wall, café table and chairs in the foreground, ventilation ducts

Rebar shelving as a transparent space divider at the Oltyně Roastery with products, view through to the café seating area and large windows with greenery beyond

Custom shelving from rebar and solid wood

Most of the display and retail shelving was not designed as standard furniture. Instead, it was built from simple rebar structures combined with solid wood shelves. The steel reinforcement, typically hidden inside concrete, is fully exposed here – forming a light structural grid that organizes the space without weighing it down. The solid wood adds mass and warmth. The result is a custom-built system that feels like a natural extension of the building rather than inserted furniture.

Shop area of the Oltyně Roastery with light wooden shelving displaying products, rebar room divider and large windows with views to the surrounding nature

Detail of the rebar shelving unit with solid wood shelf and Bialetti moka pot against the exposed concrete block wall of the Oltyně Roastery

Free-standing floor-to-ceiling rebar shelving as a space divider at the Oltyně Roastery, exposed concrete block walls and café seating area in the background

Rebar shelving room divider at the Oltyně Roastery displaying syrup bottles and preserves, with a view through to the café seating area and large shop window

Large windows and more light

The original small windows, typical of a house or cottage, were replaced with large glazed openings. This fundamentally changed the relationship between the interior and its surroundings. The café becomes visible from the outside and works as a natural attractor for people passing by. Most of the glazing is fixed to keep the facade clean and uninterrupted. Daylight highlights the textures of raw walls, concrete blocks, and exposed systems. A visual connection to the back-of-house reveals the red coffee roaster, making the production process part of the space.

Café seating area of the Oltyně Roastery with large glazed windows overlooking greenery, exposed concrete block walls, pendant bulb lights and timber bench seating

Café seating area of the Oltyně Roastery with large glazed facade overlooking the roundabout, exposed concrete blocks, dark metal tables and rebar shelving divider

Full view of the Oltyně Roastery shop with wooden display table holding coffee products, wall shelving with jams and sauces, and large windows to the greenery

Night view from outside through the large glazed shop window into the illuminated interior of the Oltyně Roastery — exposed materials, concrete blocks and red roasting machine in the background

View into the production area of the Oltyně Roastery through the concrete block wall — red coffee roaster, coffee products and exposed ventilation ducts in a dark atmosphere

Image - (Portfolio) Roastery OLTYNĚ - 25

Why we love renovations

The Oltyně Roastery is, for us, proof that even a seemingly nonsensical or unfinished building can take on new meaning. Not through elaborate gestures, but through precise decisions about what to preserve, what to highlight, and what to add. It is precisely in renovations and conversions like these that we see most clearly how powerful a space can be—one that isn’t built from scratch, but from what already exists on site.

Are you interested in how we approach similar interior projects? Read more about it here in the RENOVATION section—it’s our favorite discipline.

— Let's meet!

Do you have a similar property that no longer serves its original purpose? It is precisely in projects like these that the most interesting solutions emerge. Fill out this brief questionnaire, tell us a little about your plans, and we’ll be in touch soon.

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by Radka - 20. 4. 2026