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      Pinocchio is a tiny bakery in Japan decorated in the colours of bread

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      Design studio I IN has used warm, golden hues to decorate the Pinocchio bakery in Yokohama, Japan, which displays bread and pastries on minimalist shelves.Measuring at just 4.2 metres wide, Pinocchio sits in front of Oguchi train station and has been decorated to match the delicacies sold within.
      The tiny bakery project, which I IN also calls Small Icon, has been shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2020 in the small retail interior category.

      Top image: Pinocchio has been decorated to match the delicacies sold inside. Above: The bakery is just 4.2 metres wide
      “Though the space was extremely limited, the store asked to have a strong identity with the facade and interior,” said I IN.

      “Vivid gradient and soft textures that express the quality and colour of the bread are spread both inside and outside the store,” added the studio.
      “It expresses the soft charm of the bread itself and allows the customer to feel the world of bread with their entire body.”

      Pinocchio is spelt out in a slim, sans serif font above the doorway
      The interior and exterior walls are rendered in a textured material that has been painted with a golden hue, like the crust of a freshly baked loaf or a flaky croissant.
      “A plasterer who works in the performing arts collaborated with us,” said the studio. “Along with the vivid colour, the surface has a dense and bold texture.”

      The interior and exterior walls are rendered in a textured material
      Pinocchio is spelt out in a slim, sans serif font above the wide, square doorway. Glazed doors are set deep into the thick outer walls.

      Six bakeries and sweets shops with delectable interiors

      Inside, the ceilings have been painted to match the crust-coloured walls.
      A corridor of wooden floorboards runs down the centre of the shop, flanked by corridors of flooring that have been delicately sponge-painted in bready colours.

      The bakery interior features crust-coloured walls
      The bakery has only 30 square metres of floor space, so the designers created an uncluttered interior that focuses on the products.
      Two rows of minimal floating shelves made of wood run along both walls and around corners. Spotlights on the ceiling and under the topmost shelves bathe the baked goods in a soft glow.

      Two rows of minimal floating shelves line the walls
      Based in Tokyo, I IN is a design studio that was founded in 2018 by Yohei Terui and Hiromu Yuyama.
      More bakeries with interiors that are good enough to eat include this sugar-pink bakery in Ukraine and an artisanal flour shop and bakery in Canada painted in shades of caramel.
      Photography is by Tomooki Kengaku.
      Project credits:
      Client: Yokohama shokusanArchitect: I INConstructor: LegorettaLighting design: I IN

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      Blue Bottle Coffee cafe in Yokohama spotlights natural materials

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      Oak chairs sit amongst paper yarn-wrapped columns within this Blue Bottle Coffee cafe in Yokohama, Japan created by Keiji Ashizawa Design and Norm Architects.The Blue Bottle Coffee cafe occupies a glass-front building in Yokohama’s bustling business district, Minatomirai, and looks out across a leafy public park.
      This setting became a key point of reference for Tokyo-based studio Keiji Ashizawa Design, which has exclusively decked out the interiors of the cafe with natural materials.

      Top image: Paper yarn wraps around the cafe’s columns. Above: A curved bar is at the centre of the floor plan
      “We have aimed to create an atmosphere which welcomes the local community by mainly using wood, inspired by the park located by the Blue Bottle Coffee Minatomirai,” said the studio’s eponymous founder, Keiji Ashizawa.

      “The building acts as the main character of the park and provides a feeling of kindness with the natural materials in the industrial-looking landscape.”

      A local park inspired the natural material palette of the cafe
      The open floor plan of the cafe is dominated by a huge half-moon service bar, behind which staff prepare drink orders. Its base is clad with slats of light-hued timber, while its countertop is made from flecked grey stone.
      Pale timber has additionally been used for the cafe’s flooring and its circular tables. Timber also forms smaller decorative elements like the menu board and a couple of oversized, ring-shaped lights that have been suspended from the ceiling.

      Norm Architects designed the seating throughout the cafe
      A series of white, spherical pendant lamps that hang above the cafe’s high counter provide extra light as evening falls.

      Keiji Ashizawa Design and Norm Architects pare back Tokyo apartments

      In keeping with the natural material palette, braided paper yarn has been wound around the lower half of the grey support columns that run along the periphery of the room.

      Some of the chairs are upholstered in creamy leather
      Keiji Ashizawa Design asked long-term collaborators, Copenhagen-based practice Norm Architects, to devise a range of seating for the project.
      The practice designed three chair models made from Japanese oak wood: a traditional cafe-style chair, a tall bar stool and a slightly more formal dining chair that’s partially upholstered in creamy leather – its low, curving backrest is meant to draw subtle reference to the cafe’s architecture.

      The frames of the chairs are made from Japanese oak
      All of the pieces were produced by Karimoku Case Study, the sister brand of Japanese manufacturer Karimoku which collaborates with architects across the world to design furnishings.
      Norm Architects and Keiji Ashizawa Design had first worked with Karimoku Case Study back in 2019 on the launch of its inaugural Kinuta collection.

      The facade of the cafe is made from glass
      “For us, there couldn’t be a better partner to team up with than Karimoku,” explained Frederik Werner, partner at Norm Architects.
      “They uphold a unique quality and approach to the manufacturing of wooden furniture, maintaining a focus on the craftsmanship combined with the latest robotics, making sure that their philosophy of ‘high-tech, high-touch’ is truly embedded in each furniture piece leaving the factory.”

      Customers can spill out onto an outdoor seating area
      This is one of several Blue Bottle Coffee cafes in Japan, with others located in Tokyo, Kyoto and Kobe.
      The coffee brand was founded by James Freeman in 2002, starting out as a small roastery in Oakland, California before growing into a network of cafes across the US and Asia.
      Last year saw Blue Bottle Coffee open its first branch in South Korea, which was designed by Schemata Architects. The cafe is situated in the artsy neighbourhood of Seongsu and features sparse interiors dotted with timber furniture and red-brick display plinths.
      Photography is by Tomooki Kengaku.
      Project credits:
      Design: Keiji Ashizawa & Norm ArchitectsConstruction: #TankFurniture: Karimoku Case Study

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      Shuhei Goto Architects turns lecture hall into multi-level work space

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      Shuhei Goto Architects added large, stepped boxes to a former lecture hall to transform it into a playful multi-level office in Shizuoka, Japan.The Shizuoka-based studio worked with creative agency Loftwork on the project, called CODO, which was designed for logistics company Suzuyo’s head office in the city.

      An auditorium, which had previously been used for in-house events, was turned into a multi-use room where employees can work or take their breaks and the company can hold events and lectures.

      Shuhei Goto Architects’ design was informed by the 913-square-metres room’s high ceiling height. It added box-like steps to its periphery to fully utilise the existing space and allow people to circulate freely.

      “By fully utilizing the space in all directions, a new sense of distance among those present is generated, which is totally different the sense of distance in conventional office spaces,” the studio said.
      “Those working side by side don’t feel disturbed by each other’s presence because their eye levels do not coincide, or conversely, those sitting apart from each other feel interconnected because their eyes meet.”

      The stacked steps, which the studio describes as “too large for furniture and too small for architecture”, can be used as benches or tables, or simply as raised platforms to add seating on different levels of the room.
      A walkway between the stacked boxes connects two sides of the room, and details like soundproof built-in phone booths and a cantilevered viewing platform give it a playful feel not usually associated with office spaces.

      When the company hosts events, one of the boxes serves as the stage and others as seating areas.
      As the building is used as an emergency evacuation shelter for the area, the hollow steps of the boxes can also be used as storage for emergency supplies.

      Shuhei Goto Architects used wood to create the multi-level boxes and added pale-coloured, sheer curtains to the windows.
      “It’s a multi-use material: for sitting, walking, or writing,” said Shuhei Goto Architects  founder Shuhei Goto.
      “The double curtain-lace and shade is printed in gradation colour,” he told Dezeen. “The double gradation makes it look like natural light is leaking out.”

      Shuhei Goto’s Floating House in Ogasa features two-tone cladding and a 360-degree window

      Different materials were used for the floors on the different levels, with the floor of the space itself made from concrete and the lowest-level platform made from hardwood flooring.
      Some of the upper levels were carpeted to denote a difference in the areas.

      “This office was designed as a prototype for offices in a new era of innovation, based on the idea that today’s office space needs some room for flexible renewal and updates initiated by employees themselves,” the studio said.
      The CODO project has been longlisted for a Dezeen Award in the small workspace interior category this year.

      Shuhei Goto Architects was founded by Shuhei Goto in 2012. The studio has previously created the Floating House in Ogasa and designed a residence formed of four connected, house-shaped volumes.
      Photography is by Kenta Hasegawa.
      Project credits:
      Project management and creative direction: Loftwork Layout UnitArchitectural design and furniture design: Shuhei Goto ArchitectsStructural design: Tetsuro Adachi/OAK plusWood coordination, furniture production and furniture production direction: Hidakuma Inc.Curtain design: Studio Akane MoriyamaSign design: Hokkyok

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      Tree rises up through centre of House in Yoga by Keiji Ashizawa Design

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      A greenery-filled courtyard lies at the heart of this home that Keiji Ashizawa Design has created for a family of five in Tokyo’s Yoga neighbourhood. Located just outside of the bustling, shop-lined streets of Tokyo’s Shibuya ward, House in Yoga is designed to let its inhabitants experience the outdoors in an urban context. The house, […] More

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      in Rooms

      Steel and concrete steps cut through facade of Stairway House by Nendo

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      A huge faux staircase interrupts the floor plan of this house in Tokyo, which design studio Nendo has created for three generations of the same family. Stairway House is situated in a quiet residential pocket of Shinjuku, a ward of Tokyo known for its neon-lit buildings, bustling streets and vibrant nightlife scene. The three-storey home […] More

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      in Rooms

      Claesson Koivisto Rune converts 1920s bank building into K5 Tokyo hotel

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      Swedish studio Claesson Koivisto Rune has unveiled a boutique hotel in Tokyo, featuring 24 new design products. K5 Tokyo occupies a converted bank building next to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which survived bombing during the second world war. Claesson Koivisto Rune’s team adopted an “everything-is-possible attitude” to design and delivered the hotel in just 14 months. […] More