About Us

01Analysis

In every project we first look for the story of the space; if there isn't one, we write it together. We also listen to the guests, the business goals and the investment. Because a story only lasts when it speaks the same language as the business.

02Concept

The concept is the lyrics of the story. At OT Kafe our starting point was Ot magazine. First, the whole team read the magazine. The next day these phrases came to the table: "politics and football alike", "young and dynamic", "fun but intellectual". These phrases shaped not only the space but the structure of the menu as well. At 6:45, we stepped into the world of the publishing house the brand is named after, and built the language of the space from that culture by watching the Kaybedenler Kulübü films.

03Design

Then the lyrics turn into instruments: colour, texture, material, light and detail. At OT Kafe we built a design that is multi-layered rather than static. At Düveroğlu, we went back to 1963, the year the brand was born. We first studied the films and dialogues of the period, then evoked the lines of those years through colour and feeling rather than imitation. Indeed, some guests told us they "felt their childhood". The rhythm is set by invisible decisions: service flow, kitchen operations and seating layout are drawn together with the design.

04Construction

Performing a composition is part of the composition. We follow closely to ensure that design decisions are realised on site without compromise. The voice of the brand comes from the same team: we build the logo, menu, packaging and the entire graphic language of the space together with the architecture.

05Outcome: What Our Projects Say About CO Mimarlık

We have built dozens of brands from scratch together with their owners, often before they even had a name. The BeyMen restaurant chain in the Netherlands, a restaurant brand we built from the ground up, Balıkçıköy Fahri, OT Kafe, 6:45 Kaybedenler Kulübü, 6:45 Standart Coffee, İsli Közlü, Limon Lokal and İki Duble are just a few of them. We applied the same method to Dorock XL and other bars and live music venues. We have also worked on hotels such as Taksim Square and Lale Butik as well as wedding venues such as Taç Mahal in Bursa. A significant share of our projects is in Ankara: since our first Ankara project, Tadım Pizza, in 1999, we have designed more than 50 restaurants, cafés and commercial spaces in the city, in districts such as Çayyolu, Bilkent, Çukurambar and Gaziosmanpaşa among others. This experience has produced new design systems that carry a brand with the same identity from a 40 m² café to an 800 m² restaurant. Düveroğlu and Balıkçıköy Fahri still operate with their original design after many years; even when the chair upholstery wore out, no one had the heart to change its colours.

Our First Project Abroad: Mogilev

Our first project abroad came in the mid-1990s in Mogilev, Belarus. One of the country's leading polyester and synthetic fibre manufacturers, Mogilevkhimvolokno, launched a competition among its distributors around the world for its administrative units. We entered through one of its distributors, Vona, and won. We then designed the 1,050 m² administration building, including the general management and foreign trade departments, and stayed on site throughout the winter to make sure the design was built correctly. This project became the first step towards the work we carry out in Germany and the Netherlands today.

Most people think design is only what you can see: a colour, a material, a light. Yet which table a guest heads to and how many steps the service takes from the kitchen are design too. So is how a brand's name stays in the mind, and how a space still gives the same feeling ten years later. What we call analysis is hearing these invisible notes. Concept gathers them into a single theme, design assigns them to the instruments, construction makes sure they are played flawlessly on stage; the outcome is the harmony a guest cannot name but can feel. That is why, for us, analysis and design are not separate jobs but two hands playing the same piano.

Colour and material are the notes; design is the whole composition.

As our Manifesto puts it, the first note of this composition is that design gains value through the right analysis. You can see how the five stages are played in our Approach section.