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Architects: Waterfrom Design
- Area: 132 m²
- Year: 2024
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Photographs:Studio Millspace
Text description provided by the architects. The site is set back 4 meters from the street, with a 6-meter-high, 3-meter-wide banyan tree in front, obscuring the shop from view. Consequently, the client has requested ways to "open up" the space to draw consumers into the shop. Additionally, they seek to develop a sustainable and profitable business model with limited resources.
Therefore, in our design strategy, we used the packaging materials inherent in the consumption process to construct the space. The packaging materials are color-coded to differentiate the various flavors of coffee beans. As consumers select according to their personal preferences, a dynamic and ever-changing color layer is created on the facade. This approach reduces aesthetic fatigue from a fixed design and minimizes the renovation waste that results from market trends and thematic declines.
In the space, we chose standardized hinges for their versatility. These hinges can be flipped to serve as display shelves, providing flexibility for future brand expansions in product quantity and size. Even when the lease expires, these hinges can be recycled and reused.
Overall, the display system in the space is designed to be flexible and visually unobtrusive. We intend for their presence to serve the products, making the products and user behavior the core focus of the space.
In presenting the outer facade of the counter, we incorporate textures inspired by the wrinkles and folds of burlap sacks used in transporting green coffee beans, thus weaving hidden narratives into the design. The weave patterns of each burlap sack vary with the origin and estate of the coffee beans, using touch to trace back the beans' condition in their environment and how this influences flavor. These subtle clues naturally raise awareness of the concept of “tracing back” embedded in the bean-tasting process, which accumulates into a foundation element. Could sustainability also take shape in such a gentle, budding form, enabling people to feel its value rather than merely presenting a superficial answer through environmentally friendly material collage in space?
Whether it’s the openness of circulation, the sensory resonance with roasted coffee flavors and environmental sounds, or the more abstract interpretations of technology, aesthetics, or sustainability issues, both the space and the (beanroom) itself respond without providing definitive answers. There is no perfect moment, only a desire to experience a broader and enduring flow.
