CUN PANDA NANA crafts the composite space of 1/2 Coffee & Bar in Gulangyu through adapting the architecture and interior design to its soothing natural environment.
A marine garden, a living museum of world architecture, a city of world heritage, Gulangyu in Xiamen is a city of many names. In designing 1/2 Coffee & Bar, designers Cai Xunna and Lin Jiacheng takes inspiration from the Chinese city's rolling mountains, rivers, lakes and seas. The design-forward space combines the characteristics of the island and the brand's ambition of creating a diverse and composite space.
Located in on Shengqi Mountain on Gulangyu Island, the original structure was that of the 19th-century building of Deji Company, a dome building overlooking expansive sea view. The round architectural lines appear natural and in sync with the nearby Dadeji Beach on Gulangyu Island. The simplified veranda architectural style retains a large proportion of the original architectural form.
The small-leaf ficus commonly seen on the island grows indoors in another way. The main steel structures look like tree trunks growing around the space and fanning out over a broad canopy that covers the ceiling, creating shadows and a shelter from the sun and rain in the humid and rainy subtropical region.
As night falls, the sky wraps the landscape in darkness and the 1/2 Coffee & Bar metamorphoses into a second identity. The gentle daytime forest illuminates under the modern neon light. Whether it’s the 1/2 logo, the “trunk” or the “shade” big and small, they all emit a bolder and modern outlook that’s appealing to nightlife lovers.
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