Mr. Pizza: A Slice of Upside-Down Wonderland

Alex Kovachev and Anna Nikolova's Award-Winning Restaurant Design

The design inspiration for Mr. Pizza is rooted in the story of Dolce Vita, a tale of extravagance and vitality for modern romantics. The concept of luxury is reimagined and transported to a magical forest. The mystical world within Mr. Pizza is turned upside down, with fireflies and reflections scattered all around, creating an enchanting atmosphere.

What sets Mr. Pizza apart is its unique Rock & Roll twist, which adds to the allure of the space. The upside-down gardens create a magical effect, giving the sensation of a mythical space. The return to nature is interpreted with splendor and lavishness, while the poetic lighting follows the shape and form of the upside-down gardens and trees, emphasizing the feeling of mystery.

The restaurant's most significant production element is the decorative vegetation hanging from the ceiling from a height of 10 meters. Its structure is made of custom-drawn and made metal construction with steel ropes molded to the ceiling. The restaurant, based in a shopping center in one of the highest density neighborhoods in Sofia, Bulgaria, merges three previous properties to create an open area flow in the main part of the restaurant.

The project, completed in January 2017 in Paradise Mall Sofia, is still open to the public. The design process involved extensive research on public, social spaces situated in shopping centers. The high ceiling, serving as a holding base for the hanging vegetation, was a challenging aspect of the design. The result is a mesmerizing fairy tale world, where the land is upside down.

The design approach for this project was directed towards envisioning an upside-down world, in the sense of a modern fairy tale. The inspiration comes from bright skies and rich vegetation. One of the challenges in this project was designing and producing the stainless steel frames that support the pendant vegetation. The focal element in the space is the show kitchen situated in the main area.

Mr. Pizza's design has been recognized with a prestigious Silver A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award in 2019. This award is given to top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs that illustrate outstanding expertise and innovation. These designs, admired for their strong technical characteristics and splendid artistic skill, showcase a remarkable level of excellence and introduce positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.