Blue Bottle Coffee Hong Kong Central Cafe by Jo Nagasaka / Schemata Architects

Blue Bottle Coffee constantly strives to create an equal relationship between customers and staff over the counter, which is an expression of their dedication to "sharing delicious coffee."  While Blue Bottle Coffee flexibly adapts to the local culture of a new location, this approach never changes no matter where they go.

In the city of Hong Kong,  narrow side streets behind luxurious high-rise buildings are crammed with dingy apartment buildings with random signs sticking out of the walls and laundry hanging on the balconies. Pavements are peeling off and paddles are forming under the feet. We noticed that soles of shoes tend to get dirty walking around the city, which led us to think that perhaps one of the reasons why there are many stores with tile floors is that a tile floor can be washed easily with water and dries quickly in the warm climate of the city.

Since this cafe is located on one of such streets, we decided to use tiles. When applying tiles, we Japanese architects in general prefer using the wet construction method, because we feel it enhances the beauty of tiles. This time, we decided to use tiles designed for the wet construction method that are custom-made in Tajimi city, one of the top tile producers in the world. Since the building is made of concrete, we asked the manufacturer to make tiles in the color of concrete to create a simple and cozy place to enjoy coffee.

Architect: Jo Nagasaka / Schemata Architects
Location: 38 Lyndhurst Terrace Central, Hong Kong
Year: 2020
Floor area: 1F_87.85 sqm / 2F_90.60 sqm
Project Team: Kiriya Manato, Yasunori Nakano
Construction: Full scale+ partners (hk)
Collaboration: HOSHIZAKI Hong Kong (kitchen), WHITELIGHT.Ltd (acoustic design)
Structure: RC

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