Bar Edicola

David Dworkind

• Architects

Located in the former premises of a long-standing Montréal magazine store, MRDK approached the design of Edicola as both an homage to the social rituals of the Italian café and a reinterpretation of the site’s cultural memory. By preserving the spirit of the original newsstand through an integrated wall-mounted magazine display, the project establishes an immediate connection between past and present. A place where browsing, gathering, drinking, and dining naturally coexist.

Conceived as a dual-identity establishment, Edicola operates as an espresso bar by day before transforming into a lively restaurant and wine bar at night, serving traditional Italian dishes designed for sharing. The elongated linear footprint dictated a highly intentional spatial strategy: rather than conventional dining tables, the interior is organized almost entirely around bar seating, reinforcing proximity, movement, and interaction. Near the entrance, a series of standing counters encourage quick encounters and casual rituals. The perfect setting for an espresso consumed while leaning shoulder to shoulder with strangers.

photo_credit David Dworkind — David Dworkind

Running through the entirety of the space, a monumental stainless steel counter becomes the architectural and social backbone of the project. Simultaneously bar, kitchen pass, and stage, it exposes the choreography of preparation and service while housing elegant glass food displays that animate the room throughout the day. The extensive use of stainless steel across both the bar and kitchen line introduces an almost surgical precision. This cool, reflective, and highly functional choice deliberately contrasts against the warmth and saturation of the surrounding materials.

Bright red vinyl flooring injects energy and graphic intensity into the narrow volume, while continuous teak wood wall panels envelop the interior with warmth and tactility. Overhead, the ceiling is entirely clad in Tectum panels, selected both for their raw, brutalist texture and their acoustic performance, softening the otherwise animated atmosphere of the space. Even the custom speakers were integrated seamlessly into the architecture through teak wood enclosures that disappear into the wall treatment.

The lighting and furnishing selections reinforce the project’s layered identity. A vintage lamp by Jon Olafsson hangs overhead, introducing a sculptural softness to the otherwise rigorous material palette, while the Peppa suspension by Montreal-based Hamster punctuates the bar with a contemporary local presence.

More than a restaurant, Edicola was imagined as an urban social condenser. A place animated by the energy, density, and conviviality of traditional Italian bars. The project embraces informality and spontaneity, encouraging guests to feel equally comfortable standing with a glass of wine in hand as they do seated along the counter. Through material contrast, spatial compression, and an intentionally collective dining experience, Edicola captures the vibrant rhythm of public life and transforms it into architecture.