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Café OS
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From 0 to 1: how this café was made

From an old shop to what it is today. Each stage has a few photos from the works; drag “Construction” in the miniature to watch the same room take shape step by step.

  1. 01

    Step 1

    Before

    An old shop on Tongren Street: green walls, dark glass doors and a white picket fence.

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    The shop before renovation: green walls, dark glass doors and a white wooden fence
    The shop beforeBefore the renovation: green walls, dark glass doors and a white picket fence.
  2. 02

    Step 2

    Stripped back to the structure

    All the old finishes come out; walls and ceiling are chiselled back to raw concrete and brick. The rough ceiling and concrete columns you see today appeared at this stage.

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    Workers on a scaffold remove the old ceiling; bags of rubble on the floor
    Stripped to the structureOn the scaffold, the old ceiling and wall finishes come off layer by layer.
    A worker chisels the ceiling; the concrete is covered in tool marks
    Chiselling the ceilingThe ceiling is chiselled back to raw concrete — the rough ceiling you see in the café today.
    An opened wall showing red brick and a concrete column, with a ladder
    Brick and concrete exposedOnce the plaster is off, the brick and the concrete column show through.
    The bare room after demolition, with a stack of red bricks and a bucket
    Bare shellThe bare shell after demolition: rubble underfoot and a stack of new bricks.
  3. 03

    Step 3

    Walls and services

    New partitions go up to the new plan; wiring and pipes are run before the walls close.

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    A worker lays a red-brick partition (seen from behind)
    Laying the wallsNew partitions go up to the new floor plan.
    A new brick wall with steel mesh and conduit fixed to it
    Running the servicesWiring and pipes are run before the walls are closed up.
  4. 04

    Step 4

    Casting the bar

    The bar is cast on site: a curved, ribbed form is built, the concrete is poured and cured, the form comes off and the surface is ground back to stone-like layers.

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    The curved white formwork for the bar, ribbed on the inside
    Formwork for the barThe bar is cast on site: first a curved form lined with vertical ribs.
    The closed curved formwork, with cables on the floor
    The curve takes shapeOnce the form is closed and braced, the concrete can be poured.
    The demoulded curved bar showing layered texture, a grinder on top
    After the formwork came offDemoulded and ground back, the side shows stone-like layers.
  5. 05

    Step 5

    Shopfront and deck

    The front stays boarded up during the works. A timber-framed deck goes down outside, four tall glass doors go in and the fascia turns white.

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    The shopfront boarded up, a ladder in front and plants beside it
    Behind the hoardingDuring the works the shopfront is boarded up.
    The boarded-up shopfront on the street, a ladder and a big tree beside it
    Hoarding on the streetFrom the street, the whole front is boarded up, a ladder leaning beside it.
    A worker lays the timber frame for the deck in front of new door frames
    The deck frameA timber frame for the deck goes down in front, and the door frames go in.
    New tall windows taped with crosses, a ladder in front
    The glazing goes inThe tall glazing is in, taped with warning crosses.
    Under the white fascia a worker fits a door; white boards cover the deck
    The white fasciaThe fascia turns white and the deck gets its base boards.
  6. 06

    Step 6

    Finishing and furniture

    Walls are painted white, the bar and benches settle in, and furniture arrives piece by piece.

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    The café just before opening: stone-coloured bar, slatted bench and opened ceiling, with someone sitting on the bench
    The bar in placeBar, benches and ceiling are done; the finishing begins.
    Someone assembles furniture by the bar, with the garden doors behind
    Furniture arrivesFurniture comes in and is put together piece by piece.
    Someone stands by the tall window; outside, the finished deck and the hoarding still up
    Nearly thereThe deck outside is laid; the hoarding is still up.
  7. 07

    Step 7

    Opening

    In 2024 the doors open and Process is in business.

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    The shopfront after opening, every glass door open onto the deck
    OpenThe doors open and Process is in business.