Romanian architecture studio Vinklu has successfully squeezed a miniature café into an overlooked gap between two residential buildings in Bucharest, creating a unique urban intervention that draws inspiration from Japanese roadside shrines. Named "The Chapel," the café was designed for local chain Boiler Coffee to occupy a narrow space on Bazilescu Street in Romania's capital city, complete with outdoor seating that extends onto the street front.
The project transforms what founder Stefan Pavaluta describes as a "sacred space for human connection and contemplation," taking direct inspiration from the small roadside shrines and teahouses commonly found in rural Japan. This cultural reference is clearly reflected in the café's simple, steeply pitched structure featuring fully glazed ends that create a striking lantern-like effect when illuminated at night.
"The first site visit with my good clients and friends from Boiler Coffee was more than a year ago, with the project brief discussed being just trying to squeeze in something in that space that could be a coffee shop," Pavaluta explained. "Fast forward, my main intention was not to do another 'container' – its meaning had to go beyond its functionality or looks."
The architect emphasized his deeper conceptual approach, stating: "Thus, besides infusing a Japanese approach to the build, the main reference was the rural roadside chapel and shrines, past and present, that always go towards an archaic shape and get me to always turn my head passing by."
To minimize disruption to the surrounding residential area, the majority of the steel-framed structure was prefabricated off-site before being carefully assembled in its final location. The building sits slightly elevated on steel feet with a deliberate slim gap maintained between it and the neighboring structures, ensuring minimal impact on the existing urban fabric.
The exterior features corrugated metal cladding that gives the structure an industrial yet refined appearance, while the interior creates a warm, intimate atmosphere through the use of ash veneer panels that line both the walls and the dramatically sloping ceiling. A compact bathroom pod is positioned at the rear of the café, while one edge houses built-in countertops that accommodate the coffee-making station and provide additional seating with a low bench.
"The intention with this coffee shop was to design the layout as an extension of the public space," Pavaluta explained. "The exterior seating announces the space and then the interior is fully opened to the pavement, and the slight elevation helps with this feeling of amazement."
The functional design maximizes every square inch of the limited space through clever multi-purpose elements. "At the same time, the interior layout is an open kitchen, a multi-functional furniture, posted on one side, that starts as a seating space, turns into a bar and finally transforms into a deposit with a small bathroom," the architect added.
This project joins a growing trend of innovative micro-architecture solutions in urban environments, similar to other featured projects including a minimal, aluminum-clad café in Hangzhou, China by Jiangjie Office and a micro-café in Shenzhen that Onexn Architects successfully inserted into a gap narrower than a standard parking space. The Chapel demonstrates how creative architectural thinking can transform overlooked urban spaces into vibrant community gathering places while respecting both local context and international design influences.
