Munchies and Cream

Authors’ Comment

Munchies & Cream is a boutique concept dedicated to contemporary desserts, located on Calea Victoriei. The project is built around the idea of “melting outside, freezing inside”, a concept that translates the brand’s experimental and dynamic character into architecture.

The relationship with the street was essential to the development of the design. The façade is treated in a warm palette of light cream tones, while forms inspired by melting ice cream are subtly integrated into the joinery and exterior furniture. The gelato drips become a recognizable element of the brand identity, expressive enough to attract attention without turning the façade into a decorative set. The exterior, entrance, and street furniture work together as the first sequence of the visitor experience.

Inside, the atmosphere deliberately shifts from warm and fluid to cool, clear, and luminous. The interior is defined by a limited number of materials and carefully controlled elements, with a focus on plexiglass, transparency, reflections, and integrated lighting. Translucent surfaces and light create an atmosphere associated with the idea of “freezing”, while maintaining a clean and coherent spatial character.

Functional elements become part of the architectural language. The ice-cube-inspired chairs, bar front, and signage reinterpret the geometry and translucency of the concept. Treated as a volume inspired by a block of ice, the bar becomes the main focal point of the interior and visually organizes the product area. The Munchies & Cream logo is integrated into the architecture together with the materials, lighting, and furniture, avoiding a separation between branding and spatial design.

The colour palette is based on warm white, which dominates approximately 80% of the space, complemented by carefully placed lilac and pink accents drawn from the brand’s visual identity. The neutral background allows the products and branding elements to remain visible, while mirrors, plexiglass, and luminous surfaces introduce depth and reflections.

The project seeks a balance between a memorable space and a functional one, avoiding unnecessary decorative gestures. Its character is defined through the relationship between form, material, light, and colour, rather than through an accumulation of statement elements.

“Melting outside, freezing inside” becomes more than a visual concept: it is the principle connecting façade and interior, product and branding, experience and architecture. Munchies & Cream proposes a contemporary interpretation of the gelateria typology, where retail, hospitality, and brand identity are conceived as a single spatial system, adapted to a representative urban context and to a brand driven by experimentation and change.