quadrum studio turns a girls’ gymnasium into a retail-café space
VOKRUG PODRUG is a combined coffee shop and concept store in Penza, Russia, designed by Quadrum Studio within a historic building that originally housed a girls’ gymnasium in the early twentieth century. The structure, now recognized as an architectural monument, retains its original brickwork, which remained untouched during construction interventions.
The project brings together two programs, hospitality and retail, within a unified spatial identity defined by a monochromatic pink palette. Variations of pink are applied across surfaces and materials, establishing visual continuity from the entrance throughout the interior. The design and construction process was led predominantly by a female team, including designers, contractors, and the brand’s founders, reinforcing the project’s positioning as a women-oriented space.
The café area features a bar finished with glazed tiles that transition gradually from white to a light blush tone. Overhead, a ceiling composition of curved and linear elements introduces formal contrast while maintaining cohesion. A suspended light installation above the working zones visually connects the coffee shop and retail areas. Seating arrangements accommodate different uses, including a communal table, individual seating, perimeter sofas, and poufs detailed with heart-shaped seam elements. Chairs produced through 3D printing from recycled plastic contribute to the material narrative of the space. Furniture pieces from the Russian brand Eburet, also made from recycled materials, introduce sculptural forms within the interior.
all images by Inna Kablukova
a brick shell and layered pink interiors define VOKRUG PODRUG
Given the protected status of the building, original brick perimeter walls were preserved. Along these surfaces, tinted gradient mirrors in pink tones were installed, adding depth while respecting the existing structure. The café counter and retail cash desk are composed of intersecting volumetric elements, reinforcing the geometric language of the interior.
Custom stainless steel rails run continuously throughout the retail zone, forming interconnected lines that move from wall to wall with controlled bends. A multi-tier display rack assembled with visible clamps adds further structural articulation. Geometric elements recur in architectural details such as slatted ceiling sections and shelving that extends fluidly from wall niches.
Material experimentation is present in select features, including a sink made of colored concrete, stainless steel belt details on poufs, and colored mirrored surfaces. Through its coordinated palette, layered geometry, and integration of recycled materials, VOKRUG PODRUG project by Quadrum Studio establishes a distinct interior environment that merges retail and hospitality within the original shell.
VOKRUG PODRUG occupies a former girls’ gymnasium in Penza, Russia
the project combines a coffee shop and concept store within one interior
a monochromatic pink palette defines the spatial identity
the bar is clad in glazed tiles fading from white to blush
the historic brick shell of the early twentieth-century building remains intact
layered shades of pink create continuity from entrance to back wall
curved and linear ceiling elements introduce controlled contrast overhead
a suspended light installation links the café and retail zones
3D printed chairs made from recycled plastic support the seating concept
slatted ceiling sections and fluid shelving extend the geometric language
custom stainless steel rails create continuous lines across the store
perimeter sofas trace the walls in a continuous gesture
project info:
name: coffee shop &concept store project VOKRUG PODRUG
architect: Quadrum Studio
design team: Albert Bagdasaryan, Inna Bagdasaryan, Ekaterina Semenova
project manager: Anna Kulikova
area: 150 sqm
location: Penza, Russia
photographer: Inna Kablukova
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edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom
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