Russian architects Asya Baranova and Nikolay Pokorsky have transformed a Soviet-era furniture store in St Petersburg into a vegetarian cafe, featuring raw materials and an assortment of plants (+ slideshow).

The architects, collectively known as Baranova Pokorsky, wanted to create a "cosy" environment for the Radosti coffee shop, a family-owned business with a bakery that serves vegetarian cuisine.
To achieve this, they chose to use simple, muted materials such as wood and concrete, and added plenty of vegetation.

The cafe is located on the first floor of a 1950s Modernist building on the edge of a historical neighbourhood filled with 19th-century architecture, so was seen as an ideal location by the cafe owners.
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"During the Soviet period, there was a big furniture shop on the first floor of the building," said the architects. "Now, since the new metro station opened in 2015, this place became a really nice point to have a coffee, lunch or dinner for people living or working nearby."

An exposed brick wall divides the whole space into two areas. One side houses a kitchen, utility rooms and a small dining area, and the other provides for the main cafe space.

Large panoramic windows at the front of the cafe offer a view of the river Neva and bring in plenty of natural light.
But to compensate for the lack ...