Elle Cafe / OFFICE AIO

Elle Cafe / OFFICE AIO - Interior Photography, KitchenElle Cafe / OFFICE AIO - Interior Photography, Dining room, Table, ChairElle Cafe / OFFICE AIO - Interior Photography, Dining room, TableElle Cafe / OFFICE AIO - Interior Photography, Dining room, ChairElle Cafe / OFFICE AIO - More Images+ 9

  • Principal Architect: Tim Kwan
  • Design Team: Isabelle Sun, Steven Xie, Siqi Yu
  • Lighting Designer: Yansha Qiao
  • Graphic Design: Kexin Xiong
  • The Client: Elle Cafe
  • City: Beijing
  • Country: China
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Text description provided by the architects. Designed by OFFICE AIO, Beijing's new fashion cafe is Elle Cafe's second location in China. With an inverted T-shaped floor plan, the designers conceived a French sidewalk dining experience inside a shopping mall.

Elle Cafe / OFFICE AIO - Interior Photography, Kitchen
© Wen Studio

Play of Classicism for a dramatic spanning shopfront. Modern indoor commercial centers are designed with walkways carefully directed. They are often flanked by longwindedly two-dimensional advertisements or wide-open shopfronts. Each one is eagerly opening itself up loudly and entirely to the passing consumers. But the latest Elle Cafe design is a nod to "Art de Vivre" with the timelessness of classical tectonics. Coming from the west, one approaches the cafe's narrower wing with an exposed corner, implying a space that showcases art and the joy of dining. To distinguish the lifestyle from traffic along the corridor, OFFICE AIO designs a 4-meter high white aluminum screen that marks the border between the cafe and the mall, abstracting the sequence of a Doric column shaft. The resulted colonnade spans most of the elongated front, reminiscing a classical precedent -- the long East facade of columns of the Louvre.

Elle Cafe / OFFICE AIO - Interior Photography, Dining room, Table, Chair
© Wen Studio

Minimally, classical ornamentations are also implemented inside the restaurant. Custom-made column-like table stools and bar counter are made in oak, grounding the cafe with a sense of nature. Chequer parquet in muted terrazzo hues is diamond laid on the ground; its pattern echoed above by mirror tiles exuding order and grandeur. All of these impart a multi-faceted rhythm that presents tradition with a modern twist. A peek reflected by the mirror, a brush of the screen with fingertips enriches the passerby and patrons' experience by the contrasts of solid and void, flatness and depth, of social dynamics on either side.

Elle Cafe / OFFICE AIO - Image 12 of 14
Isometric drawing

A central stage flanked by two wings. Carefully located plan- and elevation-wise, the full-length half arch defines an essential axis running through space. Within the springer of the arch, it houses a magnetic track light system. On the narrower wing, the gallery appears more spacious with its wall-washing strip lights embedded along the axis. On its east end, an array of spot lamps are installed over the tables centered below.

Elle Cafe / OFFICE AIO - Interior Photography, Table
© Wen Studio
Elle Cafe / OFFICE AIO - Interior Photography
© Wen Studio

The node linking the two lengthy spaces is the core of food preparation and an interface of reception. Acting as a "stage", a large island in brushed steel sits behind the reception bar where garnishing of dishes and various beverages can be observed from all angles. A backdrop in brass anchors the central space, with a narrow slit opening to subtly reveal the hustle within the central kitchen through a pane of frosted glass.

Elle Cafe / OFFICE AIO - Interior Photography, Dining room, Chair
© Wen Studio

Furniture that adds a sense of minimal modernity was selected. Oversized cone-shaped pendants are evenly spaced and hover over travertine tabletops below. The tabletops are paired with seductive burgundy-colored weaved webbed Betty Chairs from &Tradition.

Elle Cafe / OFFICE AIO - Interior Photography, Dining room, Chair
© Wen Studio
Elle Cafe / OFFICE AIO - Interior Photography
© Wen Studio

With mirrors hanging at an angle reflecting cafe visitors and walls presenting designer items, OFFICE AIO's design of Elle Cafes showcases a long series of social scenery with its dramatic spanning storefront of both classicism and modernity.

Elle Cafe / OFFICE AIO - Interior Photography, Dining room, Table
© Wen Studio

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Project location

Address:Beijing, China

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "Elle Cafe / OFFICE AIO" 21 Apr 2021. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/960303/elle-cafe-office-aio> ISSN 0719-8884

© Wen Studio

北京 Elle Cafe / OFFICE AIO

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