Between 2009 and 2012 we developed a series of Turkish restaurant designs in the Netherlands for the Meram Restaurant branches, carrying Turkish culinary culture into a contemporary restaurant experience through different architectural interpretations, a perspective that guided all our design decisions.
A Shared Language in Turkish Restaurant Design in the Netherlands
Across the branches we used materials, forms and layouts reinterpreted for the character of each building and its surroundings, drawing the shared design language from Turkish architecture and cultural identity. This consistency helps the brand be recognised in different cities; each project kept its own spatial character while maintaining Meram's overall identity, and our material choices supported this consistency.
The Turkish Business Community and Brand Representation
We fed the design language, adapted to different spaces, with traces of traditional Turkish architecture, added a contemporary restaurant sensibility and took the different spatial conditions in the Netherlands into account. As the umbrella organisation of Turkish businesses in the Netherlands also shows, this community is strong and well established. A brand like Meram is therefore not just a restaurant chain; it also represents a brand that is part of this strong business community.
We kept this sense of representation in mind in the material choices, making decisions suited to the local context of each branch while maintaining the brand's cultural identity consistently. You can explore similar work on our international projects page. We kept this consistency in the lighting too. In the Dutch branches, we adapted our restaurant interior design decisions to the conditions of each building.
Across five branches, CO Mimarlık developed a series of Turkish restaurant designs in the Netherlands, combining materials, form and cultural identity in a single design language, tangible proof that a brand can stay consistent in different places, with each branch reinterpreting that consistency in its own context. Over time Meram became one of the familiar brands of the Turkish community in the Netherlands, with each branch earning a strong place in its neighbourhood; proof that a consistent brand identity can cross borders.
Design: CO Mimarlık
Location: Amsterdam (Oost, Zuidoost, West) and Rotterdam (Zuid), Netherlands
Years: 2009–2012 · 5 branches
