Oakland, California-headquartered Blue Bottle Coffee has launched its second café in mainland China at Shanghai’s Jing’an Kerry Centre commercial complex. Like every location in the Blue Bottle portfolio, the Shanghai outpost was crafted in responses to its surroundings. The new space draws upon local history and traditional Shanghainese architecture through a concept by frequent brand collaborator Keiji Ashizawa Design. “When designing Blue Bottle cafés, we aim to use materials and design details rooted in the local communities and areas where they are located,” Keiji Ashizawa says.
More than 13,000 custom clay tiles handmade in Yixing, China infuse a historic sensibility into the sundrenched, contemporary setting, which is also distinguished by a materiality of cement, concrete, and smoked oak furnishings. A main service bar anchors the interior, acting as its nucleus within a floor-to-ceiling vertical volume. A floating staircase tucked behind the bar also offers a unique perspective of the coffee-making process from above.
Triangular pendant lamp clad with Washi paper acts as a key focal point on the second floor’s open lounge, where a custom oversized square coffee table showcases brickwork inlay alongside leather seating. Floor-to-ceiling semicircular walls and banquettes flank the entryways on both floors to establish semi-private areas of “negative” space for guests to gather and relax. High tables and bench seating accented by reading lamps separated by wooden screens further provide pockets of tranquility.
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