THE PLACE CAFE | United Design Practice UDP

Located in the heart of CBD in Beijing, THE PLACE CAFÉ has been a regular haunt for residents and office workers nearby for the past 7 years. The design brief is to re-interpret and introduce a new café experience for its customers.

In the planning of the café, the design seeks to create multi-functional spaces for different usage. For the daily operations of the café, consumers can choose based on their various spatial needs. The flexibility for modification allows the café to transform into a special events venue. The client has the intention to position this café as a platform for designers to showcase their products.  In the consideration of the planning, exhibition possibilities are generously integrated amongst the seating.

The industrial look has been in vogue for some time. In this project, the design attempts to marry industrial elements with commercialism. Concrete, timber and black steel are the main materials of the space, both complementing and contrasting each other. A metallic ceiling grid that replaces the existing ceiling heightens the space, with varying H compositions both provide track lighting as well as masking the service M&E equipment tucked behind.

Much thought was put in to the frame language, in lining up the black metallic trimming against the concrete walls and pillars as well as the timber shelving and countertops, resonating with the H compositions of the ceiling in an symbiotic relationship.