Russian architect Eduard Eremchuk and designer Katy Pititskaya have channelled the delectable core and icing of doughnuts within Café Krujok, imagined as a “hyperreal pastry”. Located at the heart of Voronezh, Russia, Café Krujok revels in its lilac and cream-coloured walls, paired with doughy furniture, which seems almost edible, drawing from the airy shapes and textures of doughnuts, melting glaze and whipped cream.

The 110 sqm café has been designed to take its visitors into an imaginary place based on its namesake, Krujok, a round doughnut found in Russia. The space is owned by a team of professionals comprising a pastry chef, barista, and a general manager who bonded over their love for coffee and breakfasts.

“The goal was to create an ambience so each guest could dream his own dream in the world of pastry. Once you are inside, a new reality absorbs you. The pastry is everywhere, it looks and even feels like the cafe is made of dough,” share Eremchuk and Pititskaya.

Café Krujok’s cheerfully endearing interior design feels “as if you are inside a doughnut,” and is divided into two halls. The entrance begins at the first one, starting one’s journey into the appetising space. The squidgy, glossy furniture paired with the beige and cream-coloured walls here refer to different forms of dough and their consistencies and colours.

Russian artist Elena Minaev’s colourful popcorn sculptures adorn the walls, resembling shiny popcorn puffs. “They are not there by accident. Pastry cooks decorate doughnuts with caramelised popcorn - this is an important element of the dessert,” the designers explain.

Eremchuk and Pititskaya reinterpret a melting glaze in the second section of Café Krujok by playing with tactility, mixing mystic shades of purple with the softness of velvet upholstery fabric for the plump walls and accessories. This space is designed to host larger groups of people – a crumpled table and a doughy chandelier that seems as though a giant pastry chef piped it and froze it in midair - become accent points. Purple, puddle shaped pillows rest on wide concrete steps, with tables taking on shapeless forms akin to defrosted icing. A podium is placed next to this, with several seats for single or double seating.

The restroom keeps up with the doughnut theme by recreating itself as the “creamy-sweet filling of the pastry melting around you” – this was achieved by dressing the floor, walls, and ceiling in finished, monochromatic beige. The whipped cream effect was attained by employing a construction foam painted in beige and covered with a transparent epoxy resin on top, reveal Eremchuk and Pititskaya.

“We wanted to create an unusual, slightly crazy, and “unreal” place, but at the same time, a space that is understandable and comfortable for the guests,” they conclude.

Project Details

Name: Café Krujok
Location: Voronezh, Russia
Area: 110 sqm
Year of completion: 2021
Designers: Eduard Eremchuk, Katy Pititskaya