What was once Magnat Kaffehus’ showroom in the historic Kvadraturen district of Oslo has been reimagined as a flagship destination and a showroom for coffee craftsmanship. The new space has been carefully shaped and colored to create a deeper coffee experience, engaging the senses and drawing guests into the rituals that surround the craft of brewing.
Natural cork, dark-stained wood, a bespoke soundscape, and a color palette inspired by the coffee cherry come together in an interior designed to awaken curiosity. Conceived as both a flagship destination and a showcase for coffee craftsmanship, élan invites guests to engage with the people, processes, and rituals behind every cup.
The open floor plan encourages interaction and connection across roles and throughout the space. At its heart stands a circular counter made from stained oak with a solid countertop, paired with a sculptural volume of solid cork that has been organically carved in 3D and heat-treated to bring out its warmth and character.
“Rather than creating a conventional counter where guests and baristas stand on opposite sides, we wanted to create a new center point for the interaction,” said Peter Girgis, Interior Architect at Snøhetta. “I think there’s magic in creating curiosity around everyday routines. One way of achieving that is to shuffle the pieces around a little.”
Inspired by the coffee cherry
Élan’s color palette draws inspiration from the coffee cherry, which conceals a silvery-gray membrane beneath its deep red skin before revealing the coffee beans themselves, which in their raw state have a distinctive turquoise green hue. This color has been echoed in the large overhead installation of speakers, where a bespoke soundscape envelops and guides guests through the space, from the central circular counter where orders are placed to the quieter seating areas beyond.
“Cork is a richly textured, acoustic material that brings warmth to the interior. It is matte, warm, and porous, offering a tactile quality that we were particularly drawn to. It is also a breathable and renewable material,” added Marlene Fenger Vedal, Head of Interior Architecture at Snøhetta and Project Lead for Élan.
The ceiling and counter plays the main roles
All furniture pieces were custom-made, and like the counter, crafted from heat-treated cork. According to Girgis, the interior is almost monolithic with the counters, cabinets, and walls all feeling as though they have been carved from a single material.
“We didn’t want furniture with too much character of its own. Instead, we wanted pieces that would complete the overall expression while allowing attention to remain focused on the heart of the space, creating a sense of calm and balance. The ceiling and the counter are the lead actors here, while the furniture belongs to the ensemble, functioning as an integral part of the fixed interior,” said Vedal.
A smaller, separate room at the rear of the café, with its own entrance, is also clad in cork and anchored by a coffee-brown Array modular sofa designed by Snøhetta for MDF Italia. The room can be reserved by Élan and Magnat’s customers for meetings and small gatherings.
Style, Energy, and Elegance
Magnat Kaffehus has been based in the distinguished Sjøfartsbygningen building for the past ten years. Designed in the Nordic Neo-Baroque style, the richly articulated brick façade features intricate ornamentation in oxidized copper. The turquoise hue of the ceiling installation also nod to this detailing, connecting the new coffee bar to the building’s architectural heritage.
Magnat is a supplier of premium coffee machines and also an importer of specialty coffee, with its own coffee laboratory. Here, roast profiles and brewing methods are continually explored, alongside the development of proprietary syrups and flavor combinations.
Élan serves as the company’s showcase, and its name is derived from the French word for ‘style, energy, and elegance’. Beyond shaping the concept and interior, Snøhetta also developed the visual identity for élan. The signature turquoise green is carried through the branding and paired with deeper dark brown tones. The colors are, however, balanced differently to create contrast with the physical setting while maintaining a cohesive experience across touchpoints.
Under the conceptual banner of boundless, the visual identity explores the open, playful, and indefinable. Its visual language points toward something abstract and slightly elusive, something that can be interpreted and discovered, yet never fully explained. Microtypography, graphic patterns, and animations are therefore shaped by an organic and abstract expression that invites curiosity and personal interpretation.
“The coffee cherry is some sort of a strange fruit. And in many ways, élan is a strange fruit in Oslo. Not because it seeks to provoke, but because it represents something different. Something slightly abstract and mythical, something the city has not seen before,” concluded Vedal.
