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Architects: Atelier Waterside
- Area: 15 m²
- Year: 2020
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Photographs:Chao Zhang, Yang Liu, Ziheng Peng
Text description provided by the architects. This is a renovation project of a tiny shop. Sigma coffee is a community targeting coffee shop, aiming to convey the brand vision through a relaxing and sharing space. The scope of renovation lies in the north-facing living room separated from the original residential unit, located in the first floor of a collective housing. This 8-storey house, with frame structure, is a part of the Tiyu Dong Community built in the 1990s. In front of the shop, there is a piece of wild grass. Therefore, to think about how to introduce the grassy scenery into interior space has been the starting point of the design.
The design intends to respond to the outdoor grass by making use of the diffusion characteristic of the galvanized steel sheet, so as to create an indoor "landscape". The facade made of galvanized steel sheet lies in the partition wall of rear kitchen and front room, and the landscape reflected by the facade will change with light and viewing angle. From the outside, it looks as if a fascinating viewing window.
We removed the plastering layer of the original interior walls, exposing the brick walls and concrete beams and columns, in order to intensify their contrast with new materials. White natural marbles with similar size to red bricks are used as paving, to refine the texture of the space. The kitchen island raised from the middle of ground accommodates coffee equipment, meanwhile defines a surrounding working flow line, so as to obtain an open and sharing bar space.
The wall cabinet made of plain plywood is suspended above the room, which serves as a storage space for lightweight materials. It extends outwards to hide the air curtain, and becomes the storefront signboard in the meantime. Galvanized materials is also specially selected as the material of the rolling shutter that safeguard the store. By doing so, passers-by are able to view the scenery reflected on the galvanized rolling shutter when the shop is closed.
