Blue Bottle Coffee at West Bund
The West Bund in Shanghai has served as a hub for transportation, logistics, and production in China for over a century. Following major urban renewal projects along the Huangpu River, riverside spaces became a new destination for outdoor events for Shanghai citizens.
The BlueBottle Coffee designed by atelier tao+c, is situated in a specific area of the West Bund that was once home to the Shanghai Cement Factory, with the east side overlooking a historical shipyard.
The project features two defining “canvases”, the seats that are associated with outdoor facilities, inviting the riverbank scenery into the space, and resonates with both its industrial heritage and its modern urban context.
These floating “canvases” are supported by slanted timber pillars, define the rectangle space into two partials without clear boundaries and evokes a cozy and inviting atmosphere. The four corners of the canvases have varying heights, as if that the breeze blows from the river make it slanted and raised when close to the windows, exposed the view of river and shipyard.
The canvas, as an unusual ceiling, integrates mechanical and electrical facilities. plumbing, electrical circuits, and air conditioning are arranged within the sloping roof according to the required thickness. The openings exposed the wooden frames, which becomes a cavity for air return of AC and accommodates lighting fixtures to illuminate the tables.
A wooden panel made of Douglas-fir laminated boards, serving as both display shelves and division wall, separating the kitchen and cafe area. Embedded functions including wall panels, display racks, kitchen entrances and exits, rear bar counter, seats, and menus boards. The warm tone of the wood makes the entire space soft and comfortable.
The coffee bar was constructed using prefabricated concrete blocks in a basic composition, a key material that pays homage to the site’s industrial past of which Shanghai Cement Factory (1920-2009) was one of the largest cement factories in Asia. The seating benches adopts prefabricated concrete blocks as base, intersected with pinewood boards to form the surface and backrest. These components were produced off-site and assembled on-site, reflecting a casual yet methodical approach to construction. The use of prefabricated concrete components is reinterpreted, drawing a sense of familiarity from the urban materials that city dwellers encounter daily.
Prefabricated concrete stools, made from a single module, were also applied in the outdoor area that faces towards the shipyard, allowing visitors to enjoy coffee while also experiencing the freight scene alongside the Huangpu River.
