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Architects: Studio David Elgrabli
- Area: 45 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Beller
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Lead Architect: David Elgrabli
Text description provided by the architects. Studio David Elgrabli created an attractive, small bakery design delivering a welcoming charm and sleek allure with this low budget project. Leading with a bold relationship to light and color, the 45 square meter bakery stands out as a compelling addition to an iconic neighborhood. The space was created for the second Jerusalem location of The Dough House, a family-owned bakery and café opening in the heart of the city’s food and culture district, Mahane Yehuda Market. In such a competitive area, the storefront needed to be attention-grabbing while appetizing, bold while comfortable.
The eye-catching storefront design uses natural forms for lettering and a cheerful green that is carried through the entire space. It also features the dichroic glass windows that is the focal point of the design, creating intriguing reflections for the exterior and dazzling color effects for the interior. Once inside, the bakery design focuses on maintaining a sterile atmosphere, complete with white tile wall coping and cabinetry — appearing almost like a pharmacy for pastries. Terrazzo casting visually softens the floor but maintains a hygienic appeal, just as the statuario marble cashier counter provides yet another clean visual anchor.
The bakery offers bread, cakes, and pastries to customers, allowing them to choose items in an open presentation. The design encourages this with multiple layers and various elevations of custom made carpentry that invite exploration, all made using natural materials and colors. This layout allows the eye to discover the baked goods in an exciting atmosphere, while also ensuring safety and trust with a sanitary look.
Green walls and innovative lighting balance this cleanliness with the narrative of a family-owned business and a contemporary verve. This is achieved with a naturalism delivered in a modern mode. Using dichroic glass, the storefront windows capture the sunlight and open it up into rainbow patterns throughout the space, introducing a shifting array of color that creates spontaneity and excitement. An aluminum polished ceiling helps continue the path and effect of the bold natural light by enhancing reflections, and it reinforces the clean aesthetic, magnifying both ends of the design’s demands. Depending on the hour of the day, the dramatic effect of the windows changes, giving the entire space a link to the rhythms of the sun.
This relationship to the environment is further reinforced by a selection of natural materials. The floor space provides visitors with light oak custom made carpentry, accented by plants. Combined with the green walls and storefront, the overall effect is whimsical refinement seamlessly integrated with a commitment to cleanliness. With its context in Mahane Yehuda Market, The Dough House enjoys an imaginative and evocative space that elegantly fuses the ideals of indulgence and hygiene without splitting the difference. It maintains an expectation of hospitality and a sanitary place to find baked goods, accomplished through a sense of play and delivered within an affordable budget.
