Situated on a pedestrian street in Cluj-Napoca’s historic centre, Ukyo X by Maria Schunn dissolves the boundary between city and interior through full-height sliding glass façades that transform the space into an extension of public life. Cluj-Napoca is a city in northwestern Romania, located in the historical region of Transylvania. It is the second-largest city in Romania after Bucharest. Drawing on the listening-bar tradition of Tokyo and London, the place combines café, cultural venue, co-working nook, and listening lounge around a bespoke communal table and a Berlin-made H.A.N.D. HI FI sound system, placing attentive listening and social interaction at the centre of the experience.
Located in the historic centre of Cluj-Na poca, Romania, ukyo X occupies a pedestrian street shaped by layers of urban history and a vibrant public life. Ukyo X is the third outpost of the ukyo brand.
The project is conceived as a direct extension of the city, dissolving the threshold between interior and exterior.
Full-height sliding glass doors allow the venue to open completely onto the street, transforming the frontage into a permeable social interface where everyday urban activity becomes part of the spatial experience.
Designed by Maria Schunn, the project introduces the listening bar to the Romanian context.
Originating in Tokyo and later reinterpreted in cities such as London, the typology places high-fidelity sound and attentive listening at the centre of the social experience, combining music culture, hospitality, and carefully curated atmospheres.
Conceived as a hybrid environment, ukyo X operates simultaneously as a café, listening lounge, cultural venue, and urban living room.
The project focuses on the rituals of daily occupation, from morning coffee and informal work sessions to collective listening and evening gatherings, allowing the space to evolve throughout the day.
The interior is organised into four interconnected zones: a coffee bar, a lounge, a music and art area, and a more secluded co-working nook.
The layout encourages gradual transitions between activities, creating a continuous spatial landscape shaped by movement, sound, and changing patterns of occupation.
At the centre of the lounge, a bespoke modular furniture element functions as both social infrastructure and spatial anchor.
Conceived as a reinterpretation of the communal table, it challenges conventional seating hierarchies by offering multiple modes of engagement without privileging any particular position.
As Maria Schunn explains, “We reinterpreted the idea of a family table, but without the constraint of total participation. Each person can choose their degree of involvement. There are no better or more isolated seats — we created an egalitarian setting where everyone shares the same sensory experience”.
Material choices reinforce the project’s understated character.
Restored mosaic flooring, warm veneer surfaces, and subtly reflective stainless steel establish a calm backdrop that foregrounds human interaction and the experience of sound. As daylight fades, the atmosphere gradually shifts and the venue transforms into a dedicated listening environment centred around a custom-built H.A.N.D. HI FI sound system produced in Berlin and paired with an audiophile rotary mixer.
Ukyo X constructs its identity through acoustics, temporal change, and social proximity, offering a contemporary interpretation of hospitality rooted in attentiveness, participation, and shared experience.
Facts & Credits
Project title: Ukyo X |
Architect: Maria Schunn
Project location: Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Project type: Interiors
Interior finishes: Structowood
Wooden panels & custom furniture: Mark Oliver Studio
Stainless steel fabrication: Borodi Design
Custom Hi-Fi audio solutions: H.A.N.D. HI FI
Photography: in-still