MAMENORI

Roma Cayman

• Architects

The new Asian restaurant from the MAMENORI chain in Lviv explores the interplay between Japanese restraint, contemporary street culture, and the aesthetics of unfinished construction.
LVIV, UKRAINE — Replus Bureau has completed work on a new restaurant project in Kyiv that reimagines the familiar visual language of Asian eateries. Instead of directly replicating recognizable Japanese aesthetics, the team translated its key principles—balance, restraint, proportion, and attention to detail—into a contemporary spatial language built on the authenticity of materials, craftsmanship, and the reuse of resources.
The concept is based on the character of a modern Japanese street café, combining its relaxed energy with the precision and structure of Japanese aesthetics. Clean lines, thoughtful proportions, and a balanced composition create a sense of order, while raw textures, industrial elements, and intentional imperfections add dynamism and character to the space.
The result is an interior where refinement and imperfection coexist.

Architecture as an Expression of the Construction Process
One of the project’s key ideas was the decision to leave exposed the materials and structural elements that are typically concealed in a finished interior.
Plasterboard profiles, industrial metal structures, and machine-cut aluminum profiles—materials that are usually hidden inside walls or ceilings—have been reimagined as architectural elements, furniture, and decorative features. The bar, for example, is made of machine-cut profiles, and the profiles for LED lighting—which are usually recessed into drywall—are deliberately left exposed above the bar and in the banquet area.
Terracotta blocks and partition elements are also left exposed, allowing their raw texture and structural nature to become part of the interior.
“Instead of adding new layers of decoration, we wanted to showcase what was already there. The construction process itself became part of the project’s design language. Materials that are usually perceived as technical or unfinished can have their own aesthetic value if used thoughtfully,” comments Khrystyna Badzian, co-founder of Replus Bureau.
This approach reflects a broader principle of Replus Bureau’s work: design should respond to the environment in which it is created, rather than imposing an artificial aesthetic on it.

Between Order and Chaos
The interior is built on a dialogue between Japanese precision and the visual energy of modern Asian cities.
Symmetry, rhythm, and proportions form a clear architectural structure, while contrasting textures, exposed structures, and unconventional use of materials disrupt this order. This tension is intentional: the space remains structured but not overly polished.
Custom furniture maintains this balance. Chairs and tables designed specifically for the interior combine industrial materials with thoughtful proportions. Exposed plywood edges, stainless steel, and painted metal create a dialogue between warm and cool surfaces, while custom details shape the space’s unique character.
Original hand-painted artwork adds another layer. Created specifically for the project, it is integrated into the interior as part of its composition, rather than used as a separate decorative element. The handiwork lends the space a lively, tactile quality and balances the structured materiality of the interior.

Imperfection as a Design Technique
The project deliberately rejects the idea of a flawless surface.
Surplus ceramic tiles were laid in a deliberately irregular pattern, and their edges were finished by hand, emphasizing the material’s natural imperfections and rejecting factory-made uniformity.
This approach extends to the entire material palette, which combines ceramics, terracotta, metal, plywood, and linoleum with industrial building components. The contrast between the rough and the refined, the mass-produced and the handcrafted, the regular and the irregular becomes one of the interior’s defining characteristics.

Sustainability Through Working with Materials
For Replus Bureau, a sustainable approach is not just an added feature, but an integral part of its design philosophy.
The project reimagines the potential of materials that are often overlooked or perceived solely as technical. Surplus tiles find new uses, industrial profiles become architectural and furniture elements, and structural components are left exposed wherever possible, reducing the need for additional finishing layers.
This is not about creating a recognizable “eco-friendly” aesthetic, but about rethinking how we evaluate, use, and dispose of materials.
“We’re interested in the possibility of finding beauty in materials that usually go unnoticed. Sustainability begins precisely with a shift in perception: using what already exists, giving materials a new function, and creating spaces that will remain relevant beyond the scope of short-lived trends,” notes Alina Maksymenko, a designer

A Contemporary Interpretation of Japanese Culture
Ultimately, the project avoids a literal representation of Japanese culture through decorative stylization. Instead, its influence is manifested through the principles of balance, restraint, simplicity, and attention to detail.
The interior combines these principles with the raw quality of contemporary construction and the energy of the Asian street environment, creating a space that has clear cultural roots but speaks a contemporary architectural language.
For Replus Bureau, this project demonstrates how a hospitality interior can go beyond stylistic imitation and instead translate cultural principles into a contemporary architectural language—through the honesty of materials, handcrafted details, conscious reuse, and a carefully controlled balance between order and chaos.