De Witt Brasserie & Cinema Spaces
De Witt Brasserie by Studio Modijefsky incorporates historical elements from the building’s past such as a convent, school, and laboratory, showcasing a timeless design with expressive shapes and warm colors.
De Witt used to be The Movies, a large cinema located on a square in the heart of Dordrecht. By adding an all-day brasserie to the three existing screens, De Witt offers a new combination of fantastic flavours and visual entertainment in- and outside the cinema. Furthermore, as it’s located opposite the Kunstkerk (‘The Art Church’), a platform for artistic development and innovation, it contributes to establishing a new cultural hub in the city. Studio Modijefsky was commissioned to breathe new life into what had become a dilapidated space.
The design concept captures the building’s rich history. Before settling as a cinema, it served as a convent, school and laboratory. Studio Modijefsky wove these historical layers into a timeless visual language with expressive shapes, warm colours and materials that incorporate and evoke echoes of the past. From the convent the iconic motifs are: the cloister (the secluded walkways that nuns use for meditations); the wimples (the head covering nuns wear); and the habits, the nuns’ clothing. The school’s presence is felt in the corridors, with tiled walls, windows looking into classrooms, bulletin boards and class benches. Chemistry sets represent the laboratory in the shape of test tube and their holders, and protective glass screens. Finally, for the cinema, Studio Modijefsky evokes the old-school glamour of the silver screen with curtains, luxurious drapery and spotlights.
To firmly root De Witt in its community, the colour palette developed by Studio Modijefsky adheres to the ‘Dordtse kleuren’. This the city’s official colour palette, based on Dordrecht’s historic buildings. As Dordrecht was the first city in the Netherlands to adopt its own palette, it’s a further symbol of civic pride. It marks De Witt out as a Dordrecht icon, rooted in the past, that will offer everyone pleasure for years to come, open to the whole city, whether for a film, food or a coffee.
Design: Studio Modijefsky
Design Team: Esther Stam, Natalia Nikolopoulou, Agnese Pellino, Ivana Stella, Felicia Ureña, Christel Willers, Beata Karlsson, Cansu Sezer, Blerina Xhigoli
Entrance Design: Lugten Malschaert Architecten
Graphic Design & Brand Identity: Offff Studio
Photography: Maarten Willemstein
