Café Vertigo, like stepping into a film set

Immersed in the greenery of Amsterdam, inside the historic Vondelpark Pavilion, Café Vertigo presents itself as a sophisticated yet playful experience, nostalgic and at the same time new. Long cherished by cinephiles, creatives, and park-goers, this place is much more than a simple café: it is a meeting point, a cinematic backdrop. Studio Modijefsky breathes new life into the space, preserving its identity while giving it a more contemporary touch.

A Café Inspired by Hitchcock’s Scenography

With the aim of transforming a historic place into a multidimensional experience — where cinematic storytelling unfolds at every level of the environment—the café draws inspiration from Hitchcock’s Vertigo, echoing the red tones that characterize the interior. The building thus becomes a sequence of scenes revealed one after another, each shaped by shifts in scale, materials, and light.

The “vertigo effect” is reflected in the deliberately theatrical use of perspective lines created through wall, floor, and ceiling finishes: a visual guide that evokes a subtle sense of disorientation yet also depth.

Vondelpark Pavilion: One History, Multiple Identities

The Vondelpark Pavilion, a landmark for the city of Amsterdam since the late 19th century, was designed in Renaissance style by architect Willem Hamer Jr. Over time, it has embodied multiple identities: a grand restaurant with rooms upstairs, a nightclub, a barber, and cultural spaces including the International Cultural Centre and the Filmmuseum.

The souterrain, now home to the café, once hosted Au Caveau Parisien, a club known for its mirrored walls and red velvet floors, and later Kiekeboe, an all-pink nightclub that became a reference point for Amsterdam’s creative scene in the 1970s.

Café Vertigo: A Journey Through Materials and Perspectives

Café Vertigo is composed as a sequence of spatial experiences, each with its own atmosphere and material language. The main bar area — the café’s heart — attracts visitors with its sculptural presence and rich materiality. Around it, a series of distinct zones — recessed niches, elevated seating, and intimate alcoves — offer guests different settings: from lively and social to calm and secluded.

Pink-toned zellige tiles meet wood, velvet contrasts with textured plaster, and brass accents shine against matte marble. In the souterrain, velvet-clad arches and drapery create a sense of intimacy and richness, while curved banquettes and mirrored elements add a theatrical touch, enhanced by the natural light filtering through the windows.

Upstairs, glossy purple lacquer defines the spaces with a bold scenographic gesture, almost in contrast with the building’s historic architecture.

The winter garden, wrapped in velvet curtains, visually ties the interior to the outdoor terrace, recalling the soft tones of the parasols. A series of glowing globes suspended above the tables illuminates the façade, guiding the gaze and inviting passersby to “step into the scene.” Historical references, optical illusions, and layered materials coexist in a cinematic, immersive interior in perpetual motion.

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