Cafe Piora / studio_GAON

Curated by Hana Abdel

Architects: studio_GAON
Area: 109 m²
Year: 2019
Photographs:Yong kwan Kim
Manufacturers: American Standard, Daeje tiles, Eagon, Yerim, samhwa

‘Piora’ is a small bakery, located in the woods at Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province. There is a small mountain lying low when you cross a bridge across a stream on a quiet, slightly stark road, from where one walks a bit and the forest starts. The small bakery sits low on a small trail next to a broad hills, full of green barley field laid out like a beautiful lawn. A dozen years ago, the family, without any links, moved to the land among the mountains, fields, and hills. The family's land looks like a sack with a narrow entrance and gradually widens inside. We pondered where we should locate the building onto this peculiar shape of land.

On the designated spot, there were many trees, grass and a path through which water flowed. We tried not to touch the existing natural conditions as less as possible. The final design twisted the building, avoiding trees and waterways. The building was placed between the trees in the south and north and west of the earth, and the design folded like a curve, with the original trees standing like guards in front. Then the winged terrace along the front of the building was covered with canopy and lowered again at both ends. The wall with long break allows shadow of light to be cast that changes with time.That was all. In a way, the design was passive and left everything to the will of the ground.

Cafe Piora / studio_GAON - Interior Photography, Kitchen, Windows, Beam — Courtesy of studio_GAON

The interior of the not-so-wide cafe is mainly occupied by baking space, so there are just few tables inside. Guests will mostly go on a picnic to a hill overlooking a forest or green barley field with coffee and bread in a basket. The construction went very smoothly from spring to summer, thanks to exceptionally fine weather. The name of the cafe, "Piora," is a beautiful word that symbolizes the appearance of a hill that blooms all the season, thanks to the efforts of the family that has been with the land for a long time. The bakery has a simple brick finish, making it look like it had been there in the forest. We hoped that the shape of the bakery, which was lifted slightly from the ground, would give a feeling of coming out of the woods and entering the forest again. People will come for the green barley fields from winter to spring, and the corn fields in the summer, and the bakeries will be the background all season. And the smell of bread baked and brewed by this family will bring warmth to people's daily lives and to the green barley fields that remain green in the middle of winter.