Replus Bureau interprets a Ukrainian cuisine restaurant in Dnipro as an imagined continuation of a culture that was never interrupted.
What might Ukrainian architecture and interiors look like today if Ukrainian culture and art had been allowed to develop naturally, without the rupture of the Soviet regime?
This question became the starting point for Suzirya, a Ukrainian cuisine restaurant in Dnipro designed by Ukrainian architecture and design bureau Replus.
Rather than reproducing recognisable Ukrainian motifs or turning heritage into decoration, Replus approached Ukrainian identity as something that could have evolved — sophisticated, confident, warm and distinctly its own.
The result is an interior that feels familiar without being nostalgic, refined without feeling foreign, and contemporary without deliberately distancing itself from the past.
“We were looking for an answer to what Ukrainianness could have been if its natural development had not been interrupted,” says Replus Bureau. “The interior is our attempt to imagine that continuity.”
A Ukrainian interior without quotation marks
The material palette is tactile and grounded: ochre tones, natural textures and slightly steppe-like surfaces create a warm, almost elemental atmosphere. Glossy details introduce moments of classical elegance, while naïve and unexpected forms appear throughout the space — in tables, chairs, lighting and architectural elements.
Nothing is intended as a literal reconstruction. Instead, familiar references are abstracted and allowed to become something new.
One of the clearest examples is the partition separating the private dining room and part of the kitchen. Its simple outline recalls the porch of a traditional Ukrainian house — almost like a child’s drawing of one. The gesture is deliberately direct and slightly naïve, turning a deeply familiar image into a contemporary architectural element.
Textiles play an equally important role. Curtains, upholstered surfaces and carpeting soften the space and reinforce its domestic character.
From factory to gathering place
Suzirya occupies the ground floor of a business centre created through the revitalisation of a former factory building. Large panoramic windows can be opened completely, connecting the interior to the city and filling the restaurant with natural light.
The spatial organisation is centred around two elements: the open kitchen and the welcome table.
Positioned near the entrance, the welcome table is both functional and symbolic. Fresh pastries are sold here every day and pop-ups take place around it, while its presence recalls the Ukrainian tradition of welcoming guests around a shared table.
The open kitchen extends this idea of hospitality. Selected culinary processes remain visible, making the act of cooking part of the experience rather than something hidden behind the scenes.
A podium then divides the main dining space into a series of different seating environments. Tables can accommodate two, four, six, eight or larger groups, allowing the restaurant to shift naturally from an intimate meal to a large Ukrainian-style gathering.
A house within the restaurant
The VIP room takes the idea of domesticity further.
Conceived as a condensed Ukrainian living room, it contains a large communal table, an old credenza and a fireplace finished with a custom pattern designed by Replus Bureau.
The staircase railing becomes another small piece of architectural art: glossy black with brass details, it introduces a theatrical note and continues the project's speculation about an alternative architectural past — how these details might have looked if that cultural evolution had continued uninterrupted.
Below, the children's room develops the domestic narrative through memory rather than symbolism.
Its atmosphere draws on the experience of visiting a grandmother's house: hiding inside a wardrobe, disappearing under a bed, wrapping yourself in curtains and turning familiar domestic objects into places of imagination.
Light in the darkness
The name Suzirya — meaning constellation — brings the concept together.
A constellation is something that helps us navigate through darkness: distant points of light that become meaningful when seen together.
For Replus, Suzirya is similarly about continuity, memory and belonging. It is an imagined fragment of a Ukrainian architectural culture that might have developed differently — and a contemporary space built from that possibility.
Light in the darkness.
A home that is always near.
