Oh! 咖啡馆
Oh! 咖啡馆位于北京老城区,临近鼓楼,由平房老宅改造而成。咖啡馆在最大程度上保留了北京传统建筑的风格和元素,同时又在修复过程有机结合现代材料,以满足功能性和审美的要求。
传统和现代的融合首先以沿街立面呈现,一边采用青砖与原色木窗,而另一边的冰淇淋屋则覆以浅绿色水磨石,两种对比的风格在同一板瓦屋面和木梁下合为一体,在周遭老北京建筑群中让人眼前一亮,却不显突兀。
设计师保留了原建筑的屋身大木作,并以工字钢加固梁柱,但为了还原质朴真实的效果,在装修时没有刻意掩饰修复所使用的钢结构。拆除了中间坡顶的瓦片,架置玻璃顶引入天光,凸显木檩条的原始结构。同时考虑到安全因素,重建了入口处的平顶,增加承重性。因原民宅墙体质量不佳,必须覆抹泥加固,但没有完全涂满,而暴露了部分原有青砖的肌理。家具以木制桌椅为主,其中几张长桌桌面是以整块的老木头做成。地面和部分墙面则铺绿色水磨石,色调安静,肌理简单,在木结构中不觉违和。
原为一层平房的老宅经过改造后空间富有层次感。店面入口较窄,仅容一人通过,顾客进入咖啡馆内前还要经过一段短通道和双重门。前半部分屋顶重建时有意压低了层高,一方面可将管道空调等设备隐藏其中,另一方面给人略微压抑的感觉,使得后部坡顶的空间更显高挑宽敞。同时,前半部分采用横向灯带,与后部屋顶檩条结构相呼应,并增加了进深感。沿街立面的窗设计成横向长条形,从店外朝里看,也达到了从窄到宽的效果。夏天窗可打开,室外可放置长椅,与室内空间形成交流。
为尽量增加空间,设计师将平顶加固改造成露台,沿坡顶搭设台阶座位,并利用隔壁更高的楼房屋顶放置站桌,此处观鼓楼仿佛尽在咫尺,是欣赏夕阳下鼓楼的最佳位置。
Oh!
Atelier A has transformed an old residence to a rustic split-level café.
Located near Gulou (the Drum Tower) in central Beijing, the renovated café Oh! retains the historic style of its original building and is modified with modern materials for functional and aesthetic purposes.
The hybrid design philosophy is best embodied in its façade, with half decorated with traditional Chinese grey bricks and wood, and the other half, an ice-cream hut, with light green terrazzo. Such contrast is harmonized under the same tiled roof and wood beam, refreshing but not obtrusive in the surrounding historic quarter.
The wood framing of the original residence is kept and reinforced by I-beams. Yet they are not concealed, for the designer intends to bring a rustic and real feeling. The tiles on the middle of the m-shaped roof were taken away, and a glass ceiling has been installed on top to add natural light and expose the beautiful wood purlins. For the sake of safety, the flat roof at the entrance has been rebuilt to increase load-bearing capability, and the walls are partially painted with stucco, while some of the original grey bricks are still visible. The café is furnished with wooden tables and chairs. The big table tops are all made from solid old logs. The floor and part of the walls are paved with terrazzo of quiet green and simple texture, in tune with the wood structure of the whole building.
The original one-storey residence has been transformed into a multi-leveled and complex space. The customers go through a narrow entrance, a short passage enclosed by double doors, and a low-ceilinged foyer before they step into the spacious rear area under the high m-shaped roof. The ceiling of the fore part of the café has been deliberately made low when being rebuilt in order to hide air-conditioners and pipes as well as to contrast with the expansive rear space. Long light bars have been installed to echo the purlins and increase sense of depth. The window on the façade is made in the shape of a slender horizontal rectangle so that if one looks into the café from outside, they experience the same narrow-to-broad transition.
Renovations have also been made on the roof area in order to increase space, including the flat roof converted to a terrace, a set of steps as seating places installed against the slope roof, standing tables placed on the higher-level neighbouring roof, which is the best spot to admire the ancient Drum Tower at sunset.