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Architects: Willis Kusuma Architects
- Area: 120 m²
- Year: 2016
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Photographs:Mario Wibowo
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Manufacturers: Aica, Dulux
Text description provided by the architects. Francis is a local artisan bakery designed by Willis Kusuma Architects with the concept of “artisan meets modernity” of a French-Japanese patisserie. Occupying one corner of the lower ground level of St Moritz Lippo Mall Puri, Jakarta, Indonesia, the bakery encloses an area of approximately 120m2.
Given the brief to design a simple and unique yet accommodating bakery, the decision is to have a design approach that creates the warm feeling of a home. Buyers will be welcomed by the ‘pitched roof’ ceiling, naked bread, exposed kitchen and raw materials, yet modern elements are added to balance the traditional ambience. The conventional shaped pitched roof is playfully reconfigured into a contemporary undulating ceiling, composing various senses of scale and dimensions inside the bakery. In the background, the glass separator between the store and kitchen introduce the customer to the art of baking. Behind the glass are the warm hands exhibiting the beautiful process of hand-crafted loaf, which is the heart of an artisanal bakery. In terms of materiality, the idea is to achieve a traditional feel with a modern twist. A combination of traditional raw materials such as exposed bricks, wood, concrete and mosaic are used to accentuate the marriage of French and Japanese and enhances the warmth of the bread. Contrastingly, white marble and copper are weaved in, bringing tensions into the dialogue between the traditional and the modern.
Moreover, to fully express the idea of ‘artisan meets modernity’, creating a dynamic space and functions are equally as important as creating a mixture of style. One familiar issue is ‘emptiness’ when it gets closer to closing time. Hence, our team proposed to design adjustable furniture to reflect the modernity and timelessness of the bakery. While the big display table stays permanently at the front to engage the passerby attention, the foldable shelving on the side dances as the day goes by. This dynamic design allows the shelves to be opened and act as a display cabinet for the bread or closed and be a continuation of the wall.
