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      Mim Design conceives Melbourne's Au79 cafe as “greenhouse sanctuary”

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      Australian studio Mim Design has demarcated the Au79 cafe and bar in Melbourne’s Chadstone shopping centre from the surrounding stores using an arched framework instead of solid walls.

      Set in a corridor between shopfronts, Au79 was designed as a “greenhouse sanctuary” that could offer shoppers a slice of serenity and respite within the bustling retail complex.
      Melbourne’s Au79 cafe is set in a corridor between shopfrontsMim Design, which was also responsible for creating Au79’s first outpost in the nearby city of Abbotsford, wanted the space to fit into its surroundings while also bearing resemblance to the company’s original cafe.
      The Chadstone mall has a vaulted glass ceiling, which the studio decided to mirror by encasing the cafe in an arched framework topped with a gridded metal canopy and cascading plants.
      One side of the pill-shaped plan is taken over by a cafeThis frame surrounds a pill-shaped plan, which is divided into two distinct zones by a central servery.

      On one side is a neutral-toned cafe and on the other a bar organised around a curved counter made of figured stone and flanked by brass-edged display cabinets.
      The other side houses a bar”The cafe addresses the main retail thoroughfare while the bar offers a more intimate and exclusive experience facing the luxury retailers,” said Kieren Guerrero, Mim Design’s lead designer on the project.
      “The resulting open floor plate sensitively maintains visibility across the cafe to the shopfronts beyond while the arched outlines produce a theatrical colonnade effect and subtle sense of privacy.”
      Huge spherical pendants hang along the centreThe sense of formality and grandeur created by the framework is enhanced by the overall symmetry of the space.
      A row of huge custom-made spherical pendant lights is hung along the length of the plan, fitting neatly into the central arches.

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      “At night, we wanted to create the atmosphere of sitting under the glow of the moon,” said Guerrero. “The gentle illumination allows the space to transition and hold presence from day to night, bringing a new dimension to Au79’s organic forms and natural materials.”
      Mim Design employed a tonal palette of brick, terrazzo, natural leather and stone within the interior. Brass details, lush scalloped profiles and tactile finishes echo Au79’s Abbotsford cafe.
      Banquette seating runs along the perimeter of the cafeFixed banquette seating runs along the perimeter of the cafe to maintain a sense of spaciousness while seating as many people as possible.
      Loose furniture settings enable flexibility and moveable joinery on the cafe’s frontage allows the space to transform in order to accommodate different events.
      Tiles and terrazzo are contrasted against flesh-coloured leather”The project crafts a textural, gilded oasis in the Chadstone shopping complex,” said Miriam Fanning, founder and principal of Mim Design.
      “We sought to create a destination that redefined the expectation of what a kiosk is, a place considered to be built form that held ideas of permanence and presence.”
      Other projects by the Melbourne studio include a delicatessen with a counter that looks like sliced salami and an office filled with perforated metal screens.
      The photography is by Timothy Kaye.

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      Norm Architects conceives Xiamen's Basao tea parlour as an oasis of calm

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      Danish practice Norm Architects has created an understated interior for the Basao teahouse in Xiamen that was designed to offer a “clear antidote” to the hustle and bustle of the Chinese port city.

      Basao takes its name from Baisao, a Japanese monk who lived during the Edo period and spent the latter part of his life wandering around Kyoto and selling tea.
      The Basao tea lounge is arranged around a Chinese stone counterHis Zen Buddhist writings were a key reference point for Norm Architects in the design for the “tea lounge”, which is meant to evoke a sense of tranquillity.
      “With room for quiet contemplation, the space is a clear antidote to our fast-paced on-the-go culture, instead immersing its visitors in the calming sounds of tea being prepared, poured and enjoyed,” the studio said.
      Seating around the counter provides views of the brewing processAt the heart of the store is a chunky counter crafted from speckled Chinese stone that is positioned beneath a coffered oak ceiling.

      Here, customers can order drinks and observe them being prepared from a couple of high stools.
      A wider variety of seating is assembled on one side of the room, incorporating different tactilities and shapes from suede poufs to wooden benches and a long banquette upholstered in chestnut-brown leather.
      More seating lies at the room’s periphery”Carefully considering the sense of touch, the experience of the space becomes an interplay of textures and temperatures in combination with contrasting polished and raw surfaces,” Norm Architects explained.
      To the other side of the lounge is a retail space, where Basao merchandise is showcased on black steel shelves.

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      More products can be presented on slim metal ledges and pivoting displays built into the tea parlour’s oak-panelled walls.
      Oakwood also covers the building’s facade, which was modified so that its walls are sloped invitingly towards the entrance.
      Black steel shelves display Basao’s products in the retail spaceThe facade is punctuated by huge windows that can be pushed up concertina-style to let fresh air and natural light into the interior.
      Alternatively, customers have the option of sitting outdoors on the terrace, which is decorated with a number of leafy plants.
      A large window allows the tea parlour’s interior to be opened up to the outdoorsBasao is Norm Architects’ first project in China.
      The Copenhagen-based practise has recently completed a number of interiors in its hometown including Notabene, a shoe store with warm industrial interiors, and a bookstore that takes design cues from old-school libraries.
      The photography is by Jonathan Leijonhufvud.

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