This roasters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a space dedicated to coffee in more ways than one. Designed by AZAZ Architects, the new location for Elixir Bunn is awash with nutty browns to celebrate the region’s coffee tradition, as well as create a space that heightens the coffee-drinking experience.


The architect’s vision for the roasters was rooted in the idea of a Deco Temple with the locations prominent central column becoming an important part of the design. The desire was to create a “spiritual experience” for visitors, with an atmopshere akin to a coffee ‘temple’.



Arches reach out from the serving counter clad in a textured mud-effect surface and the curved staircase offers visual contrast in a rich navy blue. The floor makes use of the old-faithful terrazzo from Belotti Tiles, a perfect complement to a coffee-inspired interior. A white base mixed with blacks, browns, whites, and grey adds life to the space with its stracciatella, chocolate chip charm.


Wooden furniture and curved accents aid in the combination of tradition and modernity, working with the colour palette to produce an air of warmth and, somehow, a visual aroma of coffee.
Photography by Abdulrahman Bayashout and Rakan Alzughaibi
A new post by Hanna Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, July 2020.