giant hand-painted murals depict tropical birds at this viennese cocktail bar by tzou lubroth architekten

spread between three floors, ‘the birdyard’ restaurant/cocktail bar designed by tzou lubroth architekten in vienna is decorated with huge handmade murals illustrating colorful birds and plants. surrounded by black settings, the paintings are spotlighted and bring you to some mysterious tropical forest.

tzou lubroth architekten’s project is based on a three-act spatial choreography that begins at the street. large arched storefront windows reveal a bright split-level bistro, a spartan, grayscale space defined by white walls, black furnishings, and rigid strip lighting. 

the second act is the kitchen itself. open to the bistro on both levels and clad entirely in stainless steel, the kitchen appears mechanical in nature gastronomical laboratory. it serves as a buffer between the front bistro and a subterranean bar. as an extension of the kitchen’s mechanical systems, a stainless steel stair leads down to a large basement space.

diametrically opposed to the bistro, the bar is dark and saturated in color. floor to ceiling, hand-painted murals by bucharest-based contemporary artist saddo depict birds and foliage at a magnified scale creating an immersive environment, an ant’s eye view of the world. back-lighted tables and bar counters are illuminated beacons in the dark.

the bathrooms are divided from the rest of the space by a freestanding curved wall clad in stone and mirror strips. a roughly carved cylindrical stone basin, reminiscent of an ancient baptismal font, is displayed at the center.

project info:

location: vienna, austria

principal use: restaurant

total floor area: 320 m2

number of stories: 3

design team: chieh-shu tzou, gregorio s. lubroth, deniz önengüt, charlotte krause, clara fickl, atelier olschinsky

graphic design & photos: atelier olschinsky

wall art: saddo, atelier olschinsky

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: maria erman | designboom