Sangwich Club

English description provided by the architects.

Sangwich Club is a 109.3-square-meter sandwich bar in central Almaty, designed by east bureau as a place that reveals itself gradually.

The project began with a former bank space that had been largely unused for several years. During demolition, suspended ceilings and partitions revealed a higher volume, along with columns, beams, cracks, and layers of old plaster.

The client wanted Sangwich Club to feel considered rather than inexpensive while remaining recognizable as part of an established brand.

The studio therefore translated selected elements of the existing visual identity into spatial details instead of reproducing the brand book literally.

One motif is the square, derived from the logo. It appears at different scales in lighting, ceiling panels, furniture, and smaller details.

Black marble versions of the logo are also inlaid directly into the terrazzo floor, appearing unexpectedly in front of the counter and the water station.

The square and the layer operate as two parallel ideas throughout the interior — one originating from the visual identity and the other from the product.

Color is concentrated in particular zones rather than spread evenly through the room.

The spatial organization begins with the product. An L-shaped display counter starts close to the entrance and continues alongside the open kitchen, keeping the food and part of its preparation visible.

The counter is clad in ash burl veneer sourced through workshops in Almaty.

Its expressive grain loosely recalls veneers found on older Soviet-era furniture familiar from local interiors, without becoming a literal historical reference.

The initial design proposed fluted glass with a square texture, another subtle reference to the logo. Because of its weight, the glass was replaced with acrylic.

Fluted film was applied vertically to one side and horizontally to the other, creating the intended square texture where the two layers overlap. A concealed light source produces a soft, diffused glow.

The room is not organized around a single focal point. A gently curved communal table occupies the center, while seating continues along the existing windows, whose low sills are incorporated as additional places to sit.

The material palette is straightforward: natural veneer, plywood, painted surfaces, terrazzo, and stainless steel. Most built-in furniture and larger objects were designed specifically for the project.

Some decisions developed during construction, including the multicolored veneered wall, whose final material was discovered while visiting veneer workshops in Almaty after the originally specified finish proved too expensive.

The restroom is treated almost as a separate room. Its walls are clad in stainless-steel panels, while the mirror and lighting continue the square geometry found throughout the main space.

The custom washbasin, stainless-steel fixtures, and a terracotta-painted door edge extend the project's material and color language into smaller details.

Outside, the intervention to the shared facade was kept minimal.

Two square lightboxes provide the main signage, while the existing windows remain visually open, allowing light, people, and activity inside to become part of Sangwich Club's presence on the street.

East bureau describes it through the analogy of a well-dressed person: the overall impression comes first, while the material, cut, and smaller details reveal themselves gradually.

Not everything is meant to be discovered immediately – some details appear only with time, giving visitors another reason to look closer, stay, and return.