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Birdie Cup Coffee Shop

F.O.G. Architecture

SAVE SUBMISSION
Silver
Silver
Glass and the matte-finish metal form a marked space of white and grey - InSpace Architecture Photography
The curved roof and the soft membrane ceiling cast warm light - InSpace Architecture Photography
Overall view by night - InSpace Architecture Photography
Glass and the matte-finish metal form a marked space of white and grey - InSpace Architecture Photography

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Comments
Innovation
Functionality
Creativity
Eco-Social Impact
Total
JURY VOTES
Pop-Up Store
7.24
6.80
8.05
6.05
7.03
Darren Xu
Darren Xu General Manager at Heytea
7.15
5
7.83
5
6.25
Claudio Pironi
Claudio Pironi CEO at Claudio Pironi & Partners
Elegant, simple, and attractive. Go...
6.5
7
8
5
6.63
Tanya Khanna
Tanya Khanna Founder at Epistle
Love the roof and the clean design...
6.25
5.65
6.45
5.88
6.06
Stephanie Ledoux
Stephanie Ledoux Partner at AW²
6.86
6.58
6.35
5
6.2
Peter Culley
Peter Culley Founder and Creative Director at Spatial Affairs Bureau
Beautiful break for freedom in the...
8.42
7.99
9.09
7.06
8.14
Anda Zota
Anda Zota Editor in Chief at Igloo
I like the fact that it creates ide...
7.1
7.74
8.6
6.95
7.6
Horace Pan
Horace Pan Founder at Panorama Design Group
clever synopsis and very strong ide...
7
6.5
7
6.5
6.75
Talar Bardakjian
Talar Bardakjian Creative Director at ODG
Love the atmosphere this design cre...
8
7.5
9
5
7.38
Christina Wissing Oppermann
Christina Wissing Oppermann Commercial Director at Brandt Collective
7.21
5.93
8.69
6.55
7.1
Arne Schultchen
Arne Schultchen Founder and Creative Director at design for human nature
Poetic simplicity in perfection....
7.5
7
8
6.5
7.25
Filip Janssen
Filip Janssen Founder at Zware Jongens
More of this please!...
7.5
7.25
9
6.75
7.63
Bart Veen
Bart Veen Experience Designer at Bart.Agency
Wow. Very inspiring to see how they...
7.8
8
9
7
7.95
Christian Buratti
Christian Buratti Art Director at Quadrastudio
7
6
7.5
6
6.63
Andre Flinterhoff
Andre Flinterhoff Cofounder at Archicon Architectural Intelligence
Very straight, yet playful and imag...
7
7
8
5.5
6.88
Salone
Salone Founder at Salone del Salon
7.24
6.88
8.24
6.1
7.12
Comments
Innovation
Functionality
Creativity
Eco-Social Impact
Total
GRAND JURY VOTES
Shortlisted - Pop-Up Store of the Year
7.85
7.64
8.48
6.61
7.64
Ricardo Seola
Ricardo Seola Creative Director and Photography Professor at Ricardo Seola and NABA Milano
7.24
7.45
8.24
6.05
7.25
Claudio Pironi
Claudio Pironi CEO at Claudio Pironi & Partners
Sleek and simple, a very good examp...
8.5
8.5
9
8
8.5
Sabine Krieg
Sabine Krieg Dean of the design faculty at University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf
A very beautiful project but in ter...
7.24
6.8
8.05
6.05
7.04
Vesma K. McQuillan
Vesma K. McQuillan Professor/ Head of TYP-0.Lab at TYP-0.Lab/ Westerdals Department of Creativity, Storytelling and Design/ Kristiania UC
9.02
8.67
8.05
6.88
8.16
Alex Whitlow
Alex Whitlow Research and Strategy Director at Quinine
7.24
6.8
9.05
6.05
7.29
Client
Birdie Cup Coffee
Floor area
25 ㎡
Completion
2021

Located in Fengshengli, West Nanjing Road, Shanghai, this 25-square-meter coffee shop finds itself among tightly packed Shikumen buildings and commercial spaces. Situated right next to the metro station, it is in proximity to incessant traffic and pedestrian flow. To build a pacifying “emotional landmark” within the bustling scene became our first lead. 

Emotional Landmark
Using the method of “de-architecture,” we applied large areas of glass and matte-finish metal to create an outstretched and transparent space of white and grey. Meanwhile, the curved roof and the warm lighting moderates the cold, stringent imagery, coupling rigidity with softness. 

Roof, roof, roof Roof has always been a key space element in our designs. In this particular case, rather than roof being a mere signage board, we want the roof to establish a sort of structural aesthetics as the overall vision of the brand, which formalises the shop into some “white floating puffs” alleviating the metal space as a soft shelter for a short stay. Clouds, pillows, balloons, or spaceships – we avoid associating the roof with any one imagery, thereby encouraging people to imagine their own spontaneous connections to the space. 

Like how coffee gets rid of fatigue, we want these floaters to help people zone out a bit. Among other possibilities, the cloud imagery forms a discourse with “birdie” in the brand name and insinuates the Internet age, in which everything is relocated to the cloud and life becomes intertwined with digits. Working collaboratively with the engineering and construction team, we ended up using a C-shaped structure to support the entire roof so that we could keep only one ultra-thin column, preserving the sense of floating. 

A Coffee Stop
We worked with a limited palette and purposely lowered saturation to emphasize the free design of windows and facades, which serves to dissolve the barrier between customers and baristas. Finally, the oblique thin pillar adds a layer of dynamism to the space. From the overall framework to detailed expression, we pursue balance of order and creativity, of industrial and temper. We hope this micro commercial architecture may fulfill its potential to calm sensation, spur imagination, and slow down the hustle.