The Chocolate Maker

For this project, one of the country’s finest chocolatiers approached us to design his new store concept. He had found a location in Ghent’s Graffiti Alley, a remarkable street where graffiti is officially tolerated, and no other commercial spaces can be found. The concept for the new venture is unique in Belgium. Jannes de Duytschaever wanted to showcase the entire chocolate-making process to visitors: from bean to bar. In other words, he aimed to extract the absolute best from the raw material.

The building, with its somewhat bunker-like ground floor, offered plenty of opportunities to shape this concept. One of our key interventions was creating a large void at the street side, allowing daylight to penetrate deeper into the space. At the same time, the impressive roasting machine was given a vertical spatial presence, enriching the experience of entering the shop. The original garage floor and folding gate were preserved to maintain as much of the factory look as possible. All workshop spaces are arranged chronologically around the shop, enabling visitors to follow every step of the chocolate-making process. This dynamic greatly intrigued us, leading to the idea of ceiling-high glass walls that play with the grid of the concrete beams, crafted entirely from galvanized metal.

The entire design carries a raw aesthetic, which we sought to refine through subtle detailing, aiming to perfectly reflect the essence of the product. The counter is a prime example: manually hewn reddish-brown natural stone, divided into three disconnected volumes, resting on a high-gloss burgundy lacquered plinth. A large L-shaped piece of furniture that, as it were, embraces the visitor with chocolate.