The original building is a brick-concrete structure. In order to reduce the budget, the design re-arranged the space without changing the load-bearing structure. The original walls define two spaces. The larger space on the west side is used as the coffee area, and the smaller space on the east side is used as the office area. A toilet is set up between the two areas, and the original sun room is used as a horizontal traffic to connect the three functions in series. The coffee area is used to meet daily dining and hold various forms of activities. We placed the production area in the southwest corner of the coffee area to make the remaining space complete and suitable for holding activities. We knocked down the wall under the window on the north side of the production area, and built a door lobby outside it as the main entrance, so that customers can come in and face the production area. There are window and door openings of different sizes on the original brick wall on the south side of the coffee area. We retain this characteristic wall and pide the coffee shop into a long table area and a double dining area at the location of the two door openings. At the same time, a long bar and leisure seats are set up on the north and south sides of the wall. The furniture in the long table area is designed in a modular form that can be freely combined and moved to adapt to various scenarios.
Before the renovation, the wall on one side of the room was plastered or exposed red bricks. The large area of the plastered area made the room dark, and the exposed brick part was dirty. I decided to remove the partial plastering to reveal the brick texture underneath, and paint it white to brighten the room. The remaining plastered areas were painted with cement color paint, and the surface was covered with varnish for protection, which retained the original cement texture while making the originally rough and sandy surface smooth and flat.
The original indoor floor had floor tiles, which were old and damaged. The design decided to flatten them and then make a micro-cement surface layer on them, and use red bricks to emphasize the entrance bar area, the middle long table area and the double area on the east side. The red bricks are also laid vertically on the side panels of the bar, adding a warm tone to the interior. The original door and window openings were rugged, so I used dark gray metal plates to cover the openings to emphasize the outline lines. The design added bay windows on the north and west facades. The north side of the building is the main facade displayed to the park. Its simple red bricks collide with black metal and glass, showing the contrast between the old and the new. I also added a black canopy to the north eaves and paved the ground below with gray bricks to define a semi-outdoor dining area. The south part of the building is a transparent sun room, and as a display window, people passing by can see the seats arranged along the wall, the furnishings on the windowsill and potted plants. Sitting in the sun room, guests can also see another outdoor dining area across the road, where a sunken seating area is built with red bricks and concrete. The C-shaped seats are next to a big tree and surround a fire pit. When the weather is good, people can sit under the tree and read. When it is cold in winter, they can sit around the fire.
In general, this cafe attempts to create a relaxed, simple and interesting atmosphere. Relaxation is reflected in the lack of grid control or strict correspondence, and the original building is preserved as much as possible; simplicity is reflected in the directness of space transformation, simplification of materials and structures, and more use of the old and less addition, so as to control the cost; fun is reflected in the various furnishings and decorations that are worth savoring. This is thanks to the careful arrangement of the investor, Ms. Wang Lu and her team, who make the simple space not monotonous, but full of fun and worth savoring.