OLD WORLD EUROPE MEETS CALIFORNIA MODERN
VARSITY THEATRE & MISHKA’S CAFé
I initially worked with the owner to redesign a downtown retail space to transport patrons into old-world European café culture, where students and the community come together for intellectual conversation, studying, and a warm and friendly atmosphere. Subsequently, the owner wanted to relocate the café closer to the downtown center, in a new brick building with office space above, while also renovating the adjoining Varsity Theatre complex, reinvented as an art house and indie cinema destination, complete with a gelateria. I was the design architect for this second project, generating the architectural concepts and gaining city approval.
The final Varsity Theatre concept drawing shows how the new design works with the theatre’s iconic, historic elements, with a rich history dating back to 1921. The attached new building’s architectural presence does not attempt to mimic the theatre’s midcentury modern style with hints of Art Deco. Instead, it evokes a different time and place, drawing from the textures and vocabulary of historic European buildings, opening a dialogue of lines, forms, and feel. The resulting streetscape resembles a European approach to historic architecture, where ancient and new structures coexist.
In the initial Mishka’s Café location, I slightly rotated the counter and storage areas from the overarching structural grid to open the front space and create room for extra seating. Richly textured finishes included a mahogany-stained birch plywood counter and deeply hued walls painted with an antiqued technique.