Czech studio Mjölk brings Chicago to Liberec

Ryan Nelson had no idea what Mjölk meant, but he decided to trust the three Czech architects, and it seems he was right. After travelling the world and settling in Liberec, a Czech town near the German border, he decided to bring Chicago to a 19th century building in art nouveau style.

Chicago is where Ryan comes from, and now it is also a typical American Bar in a former piano showroom. The space was already elegant and cosy, and so the main problem was how to give it a new look while maintaining its original splendour.

After preserving all the art nouveau finishes and decorations, the architects had the window frames painted bright yellow and decorated the space with rough materials, such as an old corrugated sheet metal bar counter and black basalt brick walls. To add further character to the interior, they added three huge light fixtures made of glass wool, to improve the acoustics and lower the ceiling of the room.

The success of this interior decorating project is demonstrated by the number of people who stop by at Chicago every day to enjoy the 1920s atmosphere and one of Ryan’s delicious American hamburgers.

Francesco Cibati

Location: Liberec, Czech Republic
Project: Mjölk – www.mjolk.cz
Main architect: Jan Vondrák
Photos: BoysPlayNice – www.boysplaynice.com
Photographers: Jakub Skokan, Martin Tůma

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