Theatre of classic minimalism
The two Kilani brothers, opposite in temperament — one lost in the clouds of the arts, the other a relentless negotiator, two affable-looking lawyers — wanted to create a new café brand. A budget below reality, premises of dubious merit, in Westmount. So it often goes in our line of work.
From my first exchanges on site with the younger brother — a handbag dealer, as it happens — I ventured that the artistic direction could, and probably should, borrow the supposedly luxurious codes of the era. Black, crisp lines, restraint. A classic, time-tested register, to honour both the illusory ideals of the fourth-wave café and the minimalist budget. For it is all theatre, is it not — as is our craft.
Six hundred square feet of analysis and technical drawings, in the service of a linear balance that quietly mocks the false luxury of late-16th-century classicism. The proportion of objects in space, the alignment of wall details trimmed with a slender gold-plated aluminium extrusion, a ceiling precisely cut with false soffits, the drawing of the woven seating — all of it studied to marry these old, at times gaudy, codes. More than 250 hours of guidance over several months, to realise their local ambition and set the guidelines to come.
An immediate success on opening.
The project was widely awarded and featured around the world in 2017 and 2018, to the great delight of the two Kilani brothers and their clients.
Awards
Best Minimalist Interior Design — London, UK
Best of Canada Design Awards — Toronto, Canada
Grand Prix du Design — Montréal, Canada
Note: Jean de Lessard Designers concluded its engagement with the group in 2019. Subsequent works do not bear our signature.
