Elvira Bakubayeva

Aisulu Uali

Victoria Akram

Auyl is an experimental restaurant project in Medeu, the result of a creative collaboration of architects, artists, artisans, designers, and creative producers. Together we have created an immersive space that exists at the intersection of gastronomy and performance. Auyl gives the guest an experience of "inclusion" in the process—through lighting, sounds, atmosphere, textures, smells. The cuisine of Auyl offers variations on the theme of Central Asian cuisine.

Elvira Bakubaeva and Aisulu Uali, architects and founders of NAAW, in collaboration with the designer Asel Nusipkozhanova: "We did not create space, but sensations—the interior architecture and furnishings of Auyl predetermine the emotions of the people inside it. Architecturally we had to create something three-dimensional, strong, capturing the guest from the moment he steps over the threshold. We investigated and experimented with different approaches to find the right solution.

We conceived an open plan restaurant so that visitors could see the entire cooking process. At different points in the space, be it the topless area, the bar, or the classic seating, you can see everything that is going on in the kitchen, the main stage. The shape of the domes over the cooking area echoes the shape of the bowl, an important nomadic architectural form, and visually separates the guest area from the cooking area. The subdued lighting creates a mysterious atmosphere akin to a theatrical setting. The lighting is only part of the performance. The visitor will be able to see his main characters rolling dough, whipping koumiss, baking flatbread in a tandoor, cooking meat and bringing food. Dynamic movement around, the sounds of wind, rustling leaves and chirping birds will help guests to immerse themselves in the process. Thanks to the open arrangement of zones, peculiar lighting and natural sounds, visitors can become participants of a phantasmagorical show that transports them into the space of the steppe. This is an honest and sincere story that we want to share with the guests of Auyl.

The Auyl restaurant building is a historical monument of Soviet modernism with national elements in the decor. A Soviet-era mosaic by Vladimir Anisimov above the main door depicts Kenesary Khan on the hunt. The figures on the facade of the building, welcoming visitors at the entrance, are like shadows that penetrate inside and dissolve into the air.

Known as the residence where Dinmukhamed Kunayev received foreign guests, the building was originally built in Aktau and only later moved to Almaty. We see a sacred meaning in the very history of the building, which has come a long way, like a traditional nomadic yurt.

On the architecture and design of the individual elements in detail

Everything began with the creation of a single concept—the image of space. Elvira Bakubaeva and Aisulu Uali of NAAW in collaboration with the designer Assel Nusipkozhanova tried to create a place where all elements "speak the same language"—the architecture, decor, tableware and even music and smells. Much work has been done even at the level of sketches, each item required a separate mini-study. Elvira, Aisulu and Asel jointly with craftsmen were searching for the right way, making samples, approaching the idea and moving away, and so on and so forth, until the final image of Auyl has taken shape—a fusion of feelings and experience, comfort and natural lines. In many ways the space created itself in the process of work, dictating certain decisions.

The architecturally designed space of the restaurant consists of a small, but correct number of components—some serve as a background, others as a point of attraction. At the core is an open, one-piece space separated only by structural columns. The geometry of the room is purposefully rid of straight lines and flat surfaces: exaggeratedly textured walls flow smoothly into the same ceiling, columns and transoms are rounded. The color of the walls is natural light clay, which through a gradient turns into a color of dark soot, giving the effect of "smoked ceiling". On the floor is masonry stone with jagged edges.

This background is a kind of canvas, the basis of what plays a major role in the interior.

The main points of attraction are two: on the one hand-stained glass windows with stunning mountain views, on the other—the open kitchen, over which, crowding, overhanging huge domes of different sizes, arranged in an organic rhythm. These domes not only mark the place where the main action is taking place, but also give it the bright light it needs for cooking, while keeping the light out of the hall, where dim lighting prevails.

At the entrance, guests are greeted by other large architectural objects—columns created from stone outcrops stacked on top of each other, and a sculptural reception desk in a form of stone that is hardly found in nature, but looks surprisingly organic.

The next in scale are the massive carved joinery: cabinets, window frames, and peculiar "chests" used as a surface for the cooks to work on and as steins. The main tables are round, on voluminous legs of organic shape, brushed and charcoal black. Chairs are made in simple, even primitive geometry and tied with coarse jute. The vases and jugs are of fireclay, each with a unique, "lively", rich texture.

From this description, we can understand that there is a great deal of coarse textured material in the project: clay, rough stone, oxidized copper, "torn" travertine, brushed wood, jute. This gives a certain "wild" and "primitive" character to the atmosphere, but since we still want to give comfort and coziness to the guests, this roughness is compensated by tactile warm textiles. The leather sofa area is decorated with soft cushions, the traditional floor seating area is covered with felt shyrdaks, corsets and cushions, surrounded by fabric drapery. The reinterpreted traditional textiles are also present in the wall décor.

An important role in creating the desired atmosphere is played by light. During the day there is a lot of sunlight, right up to the beautiful 5pm 'golden hour', but in the evening we used special lighting—narrow beam spots that gently illuminate the center of the table and draw the decorative elements out of the darkness. In some places we use in-floor lighting that creates beautiful shadows from the interior trees. There are also local decorative lights in the project, such as traditional shamas and animal-shaped candles, the outlines of which are taken from the façade of the building, and they cast beautiful fluttering shadows.

The team of the architectural bureau NAAW and designer Asel Nusipkojanova: "Realizing the potential of the project in terms of object design and the wealth of material that can be worked with, we have deeply immersed ourselves in the traditional decorative and applied arts of Turkic nomadic peoples, to create interior objects together with artisans. We got the fusion of the historical meaning of ornaments and techniques with the design developed specially for this place. Already at the moment of creating the sketches we understood with whom we would be working on the production. We went on trips to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, discussed the development of objects, looked for materials and artisans in various directions.

The interior of Auyl is a kind of monument to arts and crafts. The handmade items—chairs, carpets, decorative ornaments—are treated so that they naturally age, covered by the patina of time."

The wood carvers had the task of using different techniques for different objects. In general, we didn't want to repeat the small pattern typical rather of Uzbek culture. We wanted something big, large-scale, not being afraid of big blocks. The guests will see large patterns on the cabinets on the left and right of the entrance, on the planes of the kitchen area, on the window jambs. Wood is a living material, it can crack, it is uneven—we tried to preserve the features of its texture. If you look closely at the objects with carvings, you can see how they have been hand-carved—each detail of hand-carved wood is unique.

Kebeje—food storage chests that serve the utilitarian role of restaurant staples—are used to decorate the space. The chests are made of wooden boards and inlaid with metal. All of the wooden pieces in Auyl are assembled from square and rectangular wooden planks—that is, the way they have been made since ancient times. For example, the low round tables in the trestle area are the same as those at which many Kazakh families still drink tea. We are not exoticizing the Kazakh way of life, we are going back to ourselves.

Designer Auyl uses patterns as a medium to create the right look. In ancient times, patterns carried meaning, the combination of patterns with each other was not random, the masters incorporated their stories into them. The art of pattern-making, unfortunately, gradually faded into history. The very names of Kazakh patterns, "koshkar muiiz" or "it kuyryk", do not reflect their meaning. Developing the design of items for Auyl, we looked through the archives and studied styles, choosing patterns based on their compositional features, but not forgetting to take into account their meaning.

When creating the textile design for Auyl, we worked with the Kyrgyz company Tumar. This is a unique association of artisans, combining traditional techniques with production power. Tumar works according to European standards, and in this they are no different from, for example, Italian factories. They work to a detailed technical specification, coordinating dimensions, textures and color matching of wool dyes according to Pantone—sharing responsibility for the result with the customer.

For Auyl, Tumar made shyrdaks, large felted carpets with appliquéd pattern, knitted cushions, terme weaves. And from the ceiling comes down linen ribbons, on which the masters of Tumar have applied tambourine embroidery.

The designer Asel Nusipkozhanova created two textile panels herself as an artist.

The textile in Auyl space is of great importance—it completes the overall atmosphere, immersing one in a very familiar and close in spirit material world.

Several artisan associations worked with ceramics for Auyl. Sezim Ceramics designs objects in a primitive style from living clay and natural materials. They made jugs for Auyl.

Through creating a whole series of test samples, we found the shape for the Auyl tableware with Forma Ceramics, an Almaty-based ceramics atelier. We designed and sifted through many variations until we settled on one shape of glaze-treated plates.

Certain types of ceramicware were painted by a whole group of Almaty artists at Dunie Lab workshops.

The bar became an area of experimental ceramics. The chef bartender came up with his own original way of serving drinks at the bar. Fougères and glasses for it were painted by the artist. Part of the experimental ceramics—tableware for the bar—will come from Kyrgyzstan.

If the black, burnt tables were approved by the designer and architects, then the chairs with jute weave required several samples, before the right combination of proportions and processing technique was found. The frames were made by the Cara Hardwood team, and the weaving was created in Dunie Lab workshops by volunteers and friends of the project team, under the supervision of architects and designer Auyl.

The kitchen is the blazing heart of Auyl. Most of the dishes on the menu are prepared with the three most important ingredients in nomadic culture—water, flour and meat. Cooked over an open fire, in cauldrons, on a chargrill, in a tandoor, the dishes will be very familiar, but also very new to the senses. Some products—herbs and vegetables—are grown on a small farm on the territory of the restaurant.

Auyl Restaurant

Fika is an eatery located in the TurkSib Workers' House built in 1953. The interior design is inspired by the architecture of the building and the surrounding area of Almaty, as well as our own summer travels to Copenhagen.

During the demolition phase, we discovered partially preserved original plasterwork in the project, adorned with references to national ornaments. We decided to incorporate it into the design, preserving it in its original form.

The main seating area of the restaurant is situated along large arched windows, where we place cushions and pillows from the Kazakhstani brand Yourta @theyourta on the windowsills to create a cozy seating arrangement.

The majority of the furniture in the project is custom-made specifically for this venture. However, some pieces, such as Hay chairs and Normann tables, will be imported from Denmark, along with decorative lighting fixtures from the latest collections of &tradition and Hay.

On one of the walls, we have hung a drawing of the original facade of the building, which we painstakingly recreated since the original was lost in the archives. On another wall, we showcase photographs from its construction, miraculously preserved and generously provided by the Almaty Museum.

One of the main focal points will be a monumental painting titled "Constellation" by 

, capturing a piece of our city that every resident of Almaty will recognize.

Since the client emphasizes baking in this project, we made the arched window leading to the bakery the main attraction, replicating the original window design.

By the way, the windows were previously replaced by the previous owner with plain, straight plastic ones. We are restoring them with original curved metal and wooden frames. We sought out skilled craftsmen for this task from different countries.

In terms of color scheme, the project stands out with a serene backdrop of light gray terrazzo and white walls complemented by accents of cedar wood and vibrant, fresh colors.

Fika

Conceptually, the main idea was to use an unexpected approach to interpreting national culture in the interior.

We initially decided not to use direct ethnic quotations, not to use a lot of ornamentation, not to use overtly traditional shapes, not to do it 'head-on'. Instead, we wanted to convey atmosphere through materials, colours, and naturalness. The blue ceiling is clearly the sky, but also the colour of the symbols of Ukraine. The main colours and materials at eye level are natural, steppe, rocky. We still used some symbols: the chandeliers are associated with the nests of storks, which are the favourite birds in Ukraine. And the minimalistic ornament on the wall tiles and tables is a leaf of a chestnut, the symbol of Kiev. As for visitor's experience it is calm monochrome colours: table, tablecloth, tableware, walls, textile and decor allow not to distract from the main purpose of the place — food, drinks and communication.

Bitanga Restaurant

Julius is a small coffee shop in the center of Almaty. The starting point for the interior concept was a red La Marzocco coffee machine, which the customer had purchased before the project began. We thought it was symbolic to build a coffee shop interior around the coffee machine. Thus appeared the red door, which reminded us of the iconic Parisian bar Little Red Door; as well as all the other small red accents, including the logo and the identity.

The desire to turn this small space into a little "coffee sanctuary" led us to the chamber-like, coffee-and-milk colored wood paneling, ceiling vaults, and brick floor transitioning to a bar counter. Local artist Nurbol Nurakhmet's charcoal sketch on the wall adds a special subtlety to the atmosphere. The contact bar gives visitors the opportunity to watch the process of brewing coffee as a performance. Danish brand Gubi chairs are used in the project, tables are made according to our design by local craftsmen.

Julius Cafe

This office project was made for Sumbe, a race horse farm and company in Normandy, France.

During the design process, we looked for inspiration not only in the local scenic landscape, but also in the Kazakh mountain scenery where the eponymous settlement of Sumbe, after which the company is named, is located. We have tried to reflect the materiality as well as the natural colour scheme of these places. This can be seen, for example, in the reception area, where we used textures reminiscent of rocky mountain ranges and lighting fixtures symbolising the icy peaks of the Zailiyskiy Alatau mountains.

The overall style of the project is a slight nostalgia for a mid-century aesthetic, with wood panelling, leather furnishings, brass elements and cosy lighting.

The main points of attraction in each room are the square or elongated 'landscape' windows, which we have framed in wooden baguettes like works of art. And for good reason - each window offers stunning views of the Normandy countryside.

Sumbe Normandy

Alyona Basova

This winter we were commissioned to create a space for comfortable work and meeting with partners for our regular client. At the head of the concept was a goal to create a subtle yet sophisticated space.

In the executive office we have tried to make a contemporaryreference to the midcentury style - the wood panelling, leather, iconic pieces of furniture. A partition behind the desk hides a column in the middle of the room, giving it additional spatial and functional value. There is a private area with a cloakroom, WC and a corner with a daybed for relaxing.

2/3 Reception, open space, conference room

The concept is based on the idea of creating a bright space for comfortable work and meeting with partners. At the head of the concept is a generous amount of air, a delicate, understated yet high end style. The few corridors are resolved by arches, to make travelling from one end of the office to the other more pleasant. The walls of the common space are stone veneer, the floors are done in concrete flooring.

We would like to point out that, thanks to the talented team, in addition to our beloved photorealistic renderings, we have now begun to use collage filing techniques for a faster, but no less beautiful, presentation of the projects.

Sumbe Almaty

Aspantau Residence

Sabina Kamaliyeva

Broche is tiny coffee shop located at an intersection in one of Oxford's historic neighborhoods.

The exterior of the neighborhood is protected, so our task was to revitalize and make this inconspicuous corner attractive and comfortable without resorting to drastic measures and seamlessly blending it into its surroundings.

The size of the project was a challenge for us on the one hand and an opportunity for experimentation on the other, and we took advantage of it.

We decided to use a material that we had recently become familiar with at the last Venice Biennale: mycelium panels grown from mycelium (a fungus!). These panels are one of the most sustainable materials available today. We used the panels in the interior walls of the coffee house, made tables out of them (inspired by the shape of the mushroom) as well as street lamps.

For this project we are working with Grown Bio @grown_bio , who grew the panels for the stunning Growing Pavilion at Dutch Design week 2019.

In the building itself, due to its status as a historic district, we didn't have much opportunity to change anything - but we still managed to revitalize it. We replaced the windows with sliding wooden ones, with beautiful casing, so that it would be convenient to serve customers take away. A few square meters in front of the coffee shop, which are adjacent to it we laid out with clinker tiles, placed benches and three cozy tables on it.

The facade itself was painted in warm calm ivory color.

For the next Broche coffee shops, we proposed making other sustainable materials (such as recycled textiles and plastics), as well as offering brooches made from these materials as coffee shop merch.

Broche Specialty Coffee Shop

The Flask coffee shop project was commissioned and conceptualised by our friend, artist and coffee enthusiast Chihoon. According to his brief, the project is designed in a minimalist, almost laboratory style. The interior was inspired by South Korean contemporary design.

The main area of the coffee shop is housed in a shipping container structure. It is connected to the glass 'greenhouse' terrace via stained glass doors and circular windows. The main coffee bar area has a clear concept: a minimalistic bar with a stainless steel surface is complemented by modular sculptural tables and stools which can be assembled like a construction set.

The terrace area is more relaxed, with two cosy padded areas of standard dining seating.

Initially a snow-white project, the artwork by the artist VSUuniversal was harmoniously complemented by a composition of black lines applied to the various surfaces of the space in an artist's recognisable pattern.

Flask Coffee Shop

Residential Complex

Adili Boutique

Asay Jurek Vintage Shop

Here, There, Nowhere Exhibition

Villa in Normandy

Studio Apartment in Normandy

The interior of the apartment turned out to be the same as the internal state of the customers - clean, light, free and natural. The owners' love for nature is reflected in the use of textured materials in calm shades. This gives the interior a unique character and creates a feeling of unity with the environment. Stainless steel, exposed concrete, veneered MDF, decorative textured plaster and plywood - each material is selected for its natural texture and color. Warm floors and microcement allow you to walk barefoot through the house, enjoying the touch of natural materials, just like in Japan, where minimalism originated and became the basis for this project.

All storage is hidden in custom cabinets, keeping the lines simple and making the space visually cleaner.Using localized directional lights, we emphasize interesting details such as paintings and the relief of the concrete column, creating unique scenarios and giving the space a chamber-like and museum-like feelAnother accent design element is the radial glass partition, behind which we place tall dried wood, which can be arranged according to the mood. We are very happy to help our customers discover themselves, creating spaces that are comfortable for them to live in.

Minimalist Apartment

Notes Coffee & Wine

SKIN Shop

Denis Ten Memorial

Retaining Wall

Terrenkur Townhouse

This project is labeled as “Sensitive but not Classified”, which means we cannot share information or any pictures related to it.

Project	Location	Type	Category	Year
Auyl Restaurant	Almaty	Interior	Hospitality	2023
Fika	Almaty	Interior	Hospitality	2023
Bitanga Restaurant	Almaty	Interior	Hospitality	2019
Julius Cafe	Almaty	Interior	Hospitality	2022
Sumbe Normandy	Normandy	Interior	Commercial	2022
Sumbe Almaty	Almaty	Interior	Commercial	2023
Aspantau Residence	Almaty	Interior	Residential	2019
Broche Specialty Coffee Shop	Oxford (UK)	Architecture, Interior	Hospitality	2023
Flask Coffee Shop	Bishkek	Interior	Hospitality	2020
Residential Complex	Almaty	Architecture	Residential	2022
Adili Boutique	Almaty	Interior	Commercial	2022
Asay Jurek Vintage Shop	Almaty	Interior	Commercial	2023
Here, There, Nowhere Exhibition	Almaty	Exhibition	Art	2020
Villa in Normandy	Normandy	Interior	Residential	2023
Studio Apartment in Normandy	Normandy	Interior	Residential	2023
Minimalist Apartment	Almaty	Interior	Residential	2022
Notes Coffee & Wine	Almaty	Interior	Hospitality	2022
SKIN Shop	Almaty	Interior	Commercial	2022
Denis Ten Memorial	Almaty	Memorial	Public	2019
Retaining Wall	Almaty	Landscape	Residential	2022
Terrenkur Townhouse	Almaty	Architecture	Residential	2018
U.S. Embassy Office Renovation	Tashkent	Interior	Commercial	2021