“Hangzhou is crowded with cafes, so the problem is how to empower a cafe brand with design to make it stand out? After a few rounds of discussions with the owner, we chose the shabby but eco-friendly wasteland-style along with recycled furniture and top-notch coffee equipment for the new cafe brand. It is much different from other competitors on the market for its niche positioning and resonance aroused by the ambivalence.” With the principle of “low-dose” in mind, XianXiangDesign kept the original layout of the site and transformed recycled furniture and digital arts into experimental artworks as wasteland-style decorations for the cafe. 

The “low-dose” principle refers to the technique of “less is more” in design. In other words, obvious traces of design are hidden to highlight the unintentional decadence of the site, combining ruggedness with high-tech. Such atmosphere will help meet the business demand and further reflects the value of sustainability. As a result, the brand-new concept has inspired XianXiangDesignt to try something bold that will make a difference to the structure of young-oriented retail stores. 

The external design maintains the original arc glass curtain wall, shrouded by the cheap water-proof cloth with the cafe name drawn in graffiti to replace the traditional exquisite neon-light signs. The six-meter wide coffee bar is renovated from two lifting machines with a bearing of 4,000 kg. The cold machines adds a tinge of metal gray to the space, and imaginative furniture renovation like this is a vital part of the design, coupled with digital arts. The screens behind the bar are playing Fifty Moons, a digital video produced by artist Cui Shaohan. It fashions a space of imagination with countless energy, a mix of the dynamic moon and boundless universe. The variable yet lively planet existing in multiple realities presents the clash of imagination and creativity to the audience. 

By means of experimental deconstruction, destruction and patching, XianXiangDesign created the new furniture that suit the wasteland-style atmosphere in an artistic and romantic manner. Broken chairs collected from flea market are embedded with a dark green acrylic plate or reinforced with a metal leg, thus taking a new shape. A used soundbox stands, wrapped with a woven bag left from logistics, and the delivery sheet on the bag seems to be a display of its history to the visitors. Removed from original decoration, the mottled walls and floors become the new decoration. The writings left on the surface witnessed the entire construction.