Studio News · Ottawa
#Altared: A New Café and Performance Venue in the Glebe
25:8 has completed a compact corner space in Ottawa’s Glebe neighbourhood that runs as a café by day and a performance venue by night, built around one custom system of movable furniture.
- Location: Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Typology: Retail
- Size: +2,000 sq.ft
- Completed: 2026
25:8 Architecture + Urban Design has completed #Altared, a compact café and performance venue at a prominent corner in Ottawa’s Glebe neighbourhood. The project reimagines how a small space can serve multiple purposes throughout the day, running as a neighbourhood café from morning through afternoon and converting into an intimate performance venue by night.
The original interior was dark, inward-facing, and disconnected from the street. The renovation introduced two new windows that rebuild the relationship between the interior and the public realm. At the rear, a take-out window invites spontaneous interaction with people passing by, adding to the walkable character of the block. On the corner, a large picture window brings daylight into the space and puts the activity inside on display, drawing people in from the sidewalk.
As daylight fades, the corner window takes on a second role. The site’s angled street parking means headlights from arriving cars sweep across the interior, and the design leans into that everyday condition rather than screening it out, turning passing traffic into part of the atmosphere for evening performances.
At the centre of the project is a custom system of movable plywood furnishings. By day, these pieces work as retail display units, holding product and organizing the café floor. By evening, concealed hinges and integrated casters let the same pieces fold, pivot, and roll into new positions as seating and bar tables, converting the room into a performance venue without giving up floor area to fixed infrastructure.
The same footprint works both ways because nothing is added or removed between configurations, the furniture units simply rotate and roll into new positions.
Modest in size, #Altared shows what a compact footprint can do with the right design attention. By opening the space to the street, building in flexibility, and working with the daily and nightly rhythm of the block rather than against it, the project has turned a once-overlooked corner into a neighbourhood gathering place.
See the full #Altared project page for more photos and project details.
About 25:8 Architecture + Urban Design
25:8 Architecture + Urban Design is led by Jay S. Lim, OAA, OAQ, AIA, RAIC, LEED AP, who has taught architectural design and building technology at Carleton University’s Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism for over a decade, alongside prior teaching and jury work at Columbia, Waterloo, and Ryerson. The studio’s work has been covered by Dezeen, Dwell, and ArchDaily, with further mentions in Ottawa Magazine and Steel Design Magazine.