Lighting in Design Q2 2022

Lighting defines and celebrates space at CT café

Lazari in Vredehoek, Cape Town, is a popular coffee shop which reopened this April with a brand new look.

H anno de Swardt from Onnah Design was tasked with the renovation, and he notes that the owner’s interior design brief was clear from the get-go and in line with his vision for the space. “They wanted a warm and inviting space, lighter and brighter than before. A space that was relaxed and comfortable, encouraging customers to linger longer. The circulation and flow had to remain easy and practical whilst retaining a maximum seating plan. The introduction of a new banquette seat and a bar counter along one length of a shopfront were the obvious design interventions here,” he says. The need to charge mobile phones or work on a tablet or laptop were met by introducing plug points in various easy-to reach areas.

The client also added some new and exciting Mediterranean dishes to the menu which had to tie in with the new look. This was successfully accomplished through the use of all the different finishes, colours and design elements. “A final requirement was to resume trading as soon as possible, so the project team had a rather challenging deadline to meet. However, with proper planning and project management we met this part of the brief and the shop was soon trading at full capacity. De Swardt created a lighting brief for the client based on a site survey and assessment. “The only lights retained were a few decorative pendants that complemented the new scheme. As for the rest, we introduced new lights throughout. The idea

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LiD Q2 - 2022