Algiers Café
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Contemporary detailing of traditional forms and materials characterize this Harvard Square institution in the historic 19th century Brattle Hall. Formal themes and geometries are derived from north African cultures and architecture, including the faceted oculus, the pointed arches, and the octagonal dome. The dome’s corner supports are modeled on the traditional muquarnas, here reinterpreted in cherry plywood rather than hand carved from solid cedar blocks.