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Didago Café Retains the Ambiance of an Aging Building While Adding Contemporary Touches
©BASIO / Dedi K. Dwitomo
During its operational years, Hotel Dago had seen a couple of changes in its function and shape. Before finally abandoned and later renovated as Didago Café, the building was rented out as office space and went through some renovations. These changes included additional wall paints along with tearing-down one part of the building. Initially an L-shaped building, the abandoned building remains were the shorter portion of the original mass, which may have been the restaurant and lobby area of the hotel in the past.
©BASIO / Dedi K. Dwitomo
©BASIO / Dedi K. Dwitomo
The renovation of this old building can be seen as a very minimal intervention of what was left at the time when the project commenced. Thanks to the existing lobby and restaurant layout that had already been equipped with a kitchen, the designer, Bayu Ariyanto of BASIO, only needed to extend the kitchen space to accommodate the new function and add an additional stairway to the second floor from the outside. This stairway leads to an al-fresco dining area, private dining rooms, and a rentable office unit.
©BASIO / Dedi K. Dwitomo
©BASIO / Dedi K. Dwitomo
Both the owner and the designer agreed to retain the existing, aging wall paint that displays interesting patches of faded colours. Along with it, the building keeps the original door and window panels intact, as well as the wooden staircase, all of which are unique enough to be the main features of the café design. As a result, the interior renovation focuses on subtle alterations such as adding plain white ceilings, minimal lightings, and simple white furniture.
©BASIO / Dedi K. Dwitomo
Utilising clean white furnishings to distinguish new elements from the existing building is indeed a subtle yet impactful design approach. The adequate amount of these new elements ideally suggests a sense of comfort despite being in an old building, and in a way helps to define the aesthetics of the untouched, aging wall. With its location being tucked away from the main road of Bandung and positioned behind a row of present-day shophouses, visiting Didago Café is comparable to finding an idyllic hideout—an ideal and peaceful place for a cup of coffee while in Bandung.
