This Café Was Designed Like A Wood Box That Opens To Allow The Coffee Shop To Interact With The Street

May 21, 2022
A modern coffee shop that opens to the street.

Golucci Interior Architects has completed a small café in Shanghai, China, that’s been designed to interact with the street.

A modern coffee shop with a wood facade, opens to the street.

Working with a limited space of 322 square feet (30m2), the designers created a wood box as a facade that can be opened and closed.

A modern coffee shop with built-in outdoor seating.

The cafe is often open to the street, and to aid in the interaction with people walking past, there’s bench seating that wraps around the corner for people to sit and enjoy their coffee.

A modern coffee shop with outdoor seating.
A modern coffee shop with a wood facade that includes bench seating.

Inside, there’s even more simple seating, while the large windows make the interior feel larger and brighter.

A modern coffee shop with built-in bench seating.

A record player is displayed in front of the French window, creating a casual atmosphere.

A modern coffee shop with a galvanized steel countertop.
A modern coffee shop has a record player built into the counter.

A long coffee bar made from galvanized steel sheeting sits in the middle of the wood box, which besides being functional, also connects the wood box with the original concrete body.

A modern coffee shop that has large windows.
A modern coffee shop combines wood and concrete.

Connecting the two spaces is a hanging metal cage that supports the lighting that runs the length of the coffee shop.

A modern and small coffee shop with a long counter.
A modern coffee shop with a long counter.
Photography by Lulu Xi | Design Firm : Golucci Interior Architects | Chief Designer : LEE Hsuheng | Design Team : Xu Jiaojiao, Liu Xiaoyang