AZ COFFEE 是阿那亚的老牌知名咖啡厅,位于阿那亚社区四期南区,紧邻阿那亚艺术中心。所在街区为欧式小镇风格,轻松惬意,充满了舒适悠闲的生活气息。店面自身运营情况良好,排队和座位不足的现象明显,进而产生了拓展面积的需求,在原有店面的隔壁增加大约一倍的面积,进行统一升级打造。
AZ COFFEE, a beloved and long-standing café in Aranya, is located in the South District of Aranya’s Phase IV, adjacent to the Aranya Art Center. Nestled in a European-style neighborhood brimming with laid-back charm and leisurely vitality, the café enjoys strong operational performance but faces challenges of overcrowding and insufficient seating. To address this, the project aims to expand its footprint by doubling the area through an adjacent addition, while unifying the space with a comprehensive upgrade.
“Completion on One Side, Growth on the Other”
Rooted in the project’s context and inspired by the brand’s name “A-Z,” the design constructs two mirrored parallel universes anchored by the conceptual duality of “Skin” and “Bones.” These zones merge contrasting spatial identities to evoke a dynamic interplay of harmony and contradiction. Zone A, on the left, preserves the existing café’s décor as a solidified present perfect tense—a static, completed state. Zone Z, on the right, introduces a radically distinct spatial atmosphere as a dynamic continuous tense, embodying the ethos of perpetual evolution.
Here, “growth” emerges as the core design narrative.
Zone A preserves the existing café’s warm, familiar aesthetic—a solidified present perfect. Retaining the original white tones and wooden elements, it undergoes only functional adjustments to maintain its inviting, soft, and comforting atmosphere.
Zone Z reveals the “Bones” of space in progress, freezing time mid-construction. Raw, unfinished materials and exposed structural details showcase the vitality of growth, presenting the “process” as the “outcome.” Stripped of ornamentation, the space embraces purity through bare concrete shear walls, aerated blocks, and plaster layers.
The gypsum board ceiling in Zone A is reimagined in Zone Z as exposed light steel frames, capturing the mid-construction phase.
Zone A’s walls feature finished painted surfaces, while Zone Z reveals raw structural layers—concrete shear walls, aerated blocks, and plaster—laid bare as a testament to the building’s anatomy.
The stainless steel sculptural ceiling in Zone A is mirrored in Zone Z as a skeletal framework of steel studs, reconstructing the process behind the original form. When viewed from the bar, mirror-clad columns create an optical illusion: at specific angles, stainless steel and structural bones reconfigure in reflections, seamlessly transitioning from “Skin” to “Bones.”
▲ 不锈钢与龙骨在镜中重组
Stainless Steel and Studs Reconfigured in Mirrors
In an era obsessed with polished finishes, exposing construction details becomes an act of sincerity. Sliding doors and folding partitions are clad on one side while revealing their structure on the other. Fire hydrants are discreetly integrated with custom grilles in brand colors, balancing functionality and aesthetics.
“True completion lies in leaving room for perpetual growth.”
Client: AZ Coffee
Location: South District, Aranya Phase IV
Interior Design: We Live
Lead Designers: Li Weitao, Li Bo
Design Team: Liu Ting, Deng Lin, Zhang Zhirui
Construction Drawings: Chongqing Index Geometry Decoration Engineering Design Co., Ltd.
Photography: Kanhai Artist
Design Period: 2024
Completion: April 2025
Area: 200 sqm