1/2 Coffee & Bar by PANDA NANA in Xiamen, China

In 2018, a new café named 1/2 opened in Xiamen. Over the past four years, it has evolved into a coffee brand combining coffee, hospitality, and personalized solutions. During rapid development, the company plans to open branches in Xiamen and nearby islands. CUN PANDA NANA received the design order. The client expects a composite space on Gulangyu that better aligns with the natural environment and local architecture.

The seaside garden, living museum of world architecture, and world heritage city—these are how people describe Gulangyu, mainly showing fantasies and a desire for this small isolated island. As designers, Cai Xuanna and Lin Jiacheng also hope that in the future, 1/2 Coffee & Bar (the Gulangyu store) will become one of the unique details of Gulangyu.

Designers Cai Xuanna and Lin Jiacheng start with the brand concept of 1/2 Coffee & Bar, according to which an interesting life is half mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas. Based on nature, the interior architecture organically combines island features and meets the brand's ambition for diverse and composite spaces.

Located on Dadezhi Beach on Shengzi Mountain on Gulangyu Island, the original structure of the project was part of a 19th-century Dezhi company building, which features a dome-shaped structure with a natural view of the sea. The circular architectural lines look natural and harmonious next to Dadezhi Beach on Gulangyu Island.

A simplified architectural style of the veranda is adopted to preserve most of the original architectural form. The leafy ficus, commonly found on the island, grows in another way where main steel structures appear as tree trunks growing around the space and spreading a wide "canopy" above the ceiling, creating shade and shelter from sun and rain in the humid, hot, and rainy subtropical region. It also creates an invisible space for ventilation and heat dissipation.

The layer of leaves on the canopy creates shadowy lights when illuminated by "sunlight" projected onto the ground. In 1/2 Coffee & Bar, light strips are embedded between the "branches and trees" above, full of light pleasure.

When night falls, the surroundings gradually envelop in darkness, and 1/2 Coffee & Bar reveals its second identity. The soft daytime forest glows under modern neon lights. Whether it's the 1/2 logo, "trunk," or "shadow," large or small, they all have a bolder and more modern look, attracting night entertainment lovers.

Gradually improving design skills deserve praise. However, it is also necessary to avoid stereotypes of strong visual effects and atmosphere. Giving a new entry point for a new generation of designers, designer Lin Jiacheng starts with the urban context, history, culture, and natural resources to create a spatial memory for 1/2 Coffee & Bar belonging to Gulangyu Island.

- Project description and images provided by ZZ Media

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