„Designing a café is, for me as a café bum and a professional Prague flâneur, work that is rewarding. Cafés are my living rooms, they are my workplaces, they are also my confessionals. From the perspective of a scenographer, a café is not a task coming from the gastronomy field, but from the field of art history. It is about the precise fulfillment of the genre. It is necessary to know your audience. It is essential to know exactly what must be in the café and also what must not be in it under any circumstances. I always recognize when a café has been designed by someone who does not also live in it... You won’t meet anyone from the insiders there,“ says film architect Jan Vlček with a smile.
The space of Café Hein respects the original character of the unique place and connects elements of traditional Prague cafés with the aesthetics of Ungelt. The historical character of the house is also emphasized by a Gothic fresco from the 14th or 15th century, a brass bar top, warm subdued lighting, a monumental painting referring to the illusionism of Baroque theater, and details in the form of photographs from the thirty-year history of Ungelt.
„The history of the building is immensely important and inspiring to me. But it is also binding,“ confirms Jan Vlček and adds: „Overall, my approach to interior design in general is, one could say simplistically, more scenographic than perhaps the perspective of an architect. I treat the space as a play. I observe it as a genre, as a play of light, as working with atmosphere. I rely heavily on my intuition; the spaces speak to me, and I listen to them. They tell me what they want me to do. If they don’t speak, I don’t work.“
The concept of the café is based on the tradition of old Prague establishments, where artists naturally met the public. Café Hein serves as a quiet place for breakfast, coffee, or meetings during the day, and in the evening it transforms into a base for theatergoers, which is available to them before the performance and during the intermission. The menu includes specialty coffee from Jiří Langmajer, quality teas, homemade desserts from local pastry chef Josef, and fresh breakfasts from the in-house kitchen. Emphasis is placed on affordability and a family atmosphere.
„When I dreamed of my theater and confided in Miloš Kopecký, we talked not only about who and what would be performed in it, but also about how beautiful it would be to have a café next to the theater. After thirty years, it is here,“ states Milan Hein, founder and emeritus principal of the Ungelt Theater.
Official website of Jan Vlček: www.artdepartment.cz
