Café Boy, Zurich, Switzerland

Overhaul of chairs with a history

Zurich's Café Boy restaurant was renovated following its latest change of ownership. The restaurant is housed in a distinctive building in the "Neues Bauen" style, designed by architect Franz Stephan Hüttenmoser. As part of the renovation project, the chairs, which are of historic interest, were refurbished by Girsberger in keeping with their original look.

Restaurant renovation
OSMB Architekten Zürich, Natalina Di Iorio

Product
Overhaul of chairs with a history

Photos
Café Boy

Making-of photos
Daniel Kuhn

The historic Café Boy was founded in 1934 by Zurich's proletarian youth. The rooms are named after pioneers of socialism and anarchy such as Marx, Bakunin and Luxemburg.

Now it is being taken back to its roots by the new management – the left-wing "Wirtschaft zum Guten Menschen" cooperative. The dual-coloured beech wood chairs dating from the 1950s are a part of it. 

The declared aim was to create a space to talk politics, drink and eat. Boasting 80 seats inside and just as many outside, with a lush pergola, the building is an ideal size. The history of the distinctive building with its "Neues Bauen"-style architecture is the icing on the cake for the restaurant project, which aims to give local residents and the political left a place to meet again.