Israel’s Shumis Pizza Joint Features Row Upon Row of Recycled Tomato Cans

As urban trash threatens to bury city dwellers in environmental and financial ruin, recycling materials is becoming not only a progressive design technique but also a necessary one. That doesn’t mean that an economy of materials has to be boring, mind you. Often, quite the contrary is true. By using either recycled or inexpensive materials, Studio OPA has created a bold, dramatic design that makes the occasional pizza binge at a small, funky cafe in Israel’s industrial Rishon-Lezion both an exciting gastronomical and visual treat.

One half of the pizzeria is decked out in raw plywood tables, walls and seating, giving a rustic element to the funky space. Budget was one compelling constraint, but the designers also wanted to pay their respects to American pop culture which is why they chose to use repetitive patterns on the other side of the pizza joint.

Aside from the tabasco on the tables, a staple of American diners, Studio OPA added row upon stacked row of recycled cans to the fairly narrow space – more than a passing hat tip to US pop culture. A la Andy Warhol, the red and white tomato cans make a dramatic statement, particularly in contrast with the relatively simple furnishings and lime green wall.

Speaking to Frame Magazine, Gilad Zaafrany and Lotan Singer said, “We approach our projects with the intent to have fun, but we especially enjoyed this project since we had to walk into the shoes of potential pizza consumers.”

“On the one hand, they know pizza isn’t the healthiest food in the world, but they at least want to enjoy it, big time! That was the basic concept with which we approached this project,” the designers added.

In addition to building a fun, hip spot to have a decadent slice of cheesy pizza, the studio chose budget and earth friendly materials, a hopeful trend that we hope will continue to gather momentum throughout the Middle East.

:: Frame Mag

More Israeli Design:

Raw Bamboo Bench is Green but is it Comfortable?

Bamboo Redux: Israeli Designers (And Daniel Fintzi) Do it. Why Don’t You?

Build Next Year’s Sukkah With Hybrid Bamboo (aka Solar Schach)

Author: Tafline Laylin

As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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